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STATUE  OF  QUEEN  VICTORIA  AND  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 
Windsor  Castle 


THE  LIFE  OF 

QUEEN  VICTORIA 

^^  AND 

THE  STORY  OF  HER  REIGN 

A  Beautiful  Tribute  to  England's  Greatest 
Queen  in  Her  Domestic  and  Official  Life 


AND  ALSO   THB 


LIFE  OF  THE  NEW  KING,  EDWARD  VII. 


CHARLES  MORRIS,  LLD. 

Author  of  "  Famous  Men  and  Great  Events  of  the  19th  Century." 
"The  Greater   Republic."  Etc. 

WITH  AN  APPRECIATED  TRIBUTE  BY 

J.  CASTELL  HOPKINS,  F.S.S. 

Author  of  "The  Story  of  the  Dominion."  "Life  of  Sir  John  Thompson."  Etc..  Dto 

AND 

MEMORIAL  TRIBUTES 

BY  THE  MOST 

NOTED  MEN  OF  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA 


Profusely    Illustrated    with   reproductions   from    Original    Photographs, 
copies  of  the  great  paintings  from  the   Royal  Palaces  and  Rare  Prints 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1901,  by 
^  W.  E.  SCULL,  jjjjjj 

jpj!  in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


Ai.i.    KKiirix    KI-SI:IIV 


' 


p 


STACK 


M17 
10/ 


The  Life  of  the  Great  Queen 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Introduction  to  tbe  Storp  of  a  Hoble  Xife 


CHAPTER  I 
VICTORIA  AND  HER  EMPIRE 17 

CHAPTER  II 
CHILDHOOD  OF  THE  YOUNG  PRINCESS 39 

CHAPTER  III 
FROM  PRINCESS  TO  QUEEN 59 

CHAPTER  IV 
ACCESSION  AND  CORONATION .      74 


vi  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  V 
BETROTHAL  TO  PRINCE  ALBERT 96 

CHAPTER  VI 
HAPPY  MARRIAGE  BELLS .     no 

CHAPTER  VII 
PLEASURES  AND  PAINS  OF  ROYALTY 121 

CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  QUEEN  AS  MOTHER 138 

CHAPTER  IX 
TOURS  AT  HOME 150 

CHAPTER  X 
OSBORNE  AND  BALMORAL 165 

CHAPTER  XI 
THE  BUSY  WOMAN 184 

CHAPTER  XII 
JOURNEYS  IN  FOREIGN  LANDS  196 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  vii 

CHAPTER  XIII 
NOTABLE  EVENTS  IN  THE  QUEEN'S  LIFE 211 

CHAPTER  XIV 
VICTORIA'S  ACHIEVEMENTS  FOR  PEACE 228 

CHAPTER  XV 
THE  CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  THE  INDIAN  MUTINY 241 

CHAPTER  XVI 
MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 267 

CHAPTER  XVII 
LONELY  DAYS  OF  WIDOWHOOD 293 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
A  SERIES  OF  PASSING  INCIDENTS 313 

CHAPTER  XIX 
THE  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE .    .    327 

CHAPTER  XX 
PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS 341 


viii  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XXI 
THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE 364 

CHAPTER  XXII 
THE  QUEEN  AND  HER  EARLY  MINISTRIES 394 


MINISTERS 405 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

-INDUSTRIAL   AND    COMMERCIAL    DEVELOPMENT    OF 

GREAT  BRITIAN 427 

CHAPTER  XXV 
LIVINGSTONE  AND  STANLEY,  THE  FAMOUS  TRAVELERS    .    440 

CHAPTER  XXVI 
THE  PROGRESS  OF  SCIENCE  IN  THE   VICTORIAN  ERA    .         453 

CHAPTER  XXVII 
LITERATURE  IN  THE  VICTORIAN  AGE 466 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 
THE  QUEEN'S  LAST  ILLNESS  478 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  ix 

CHAPTER  XXIX 
THE  IMPOSING  FUNERAL  PAGEANT 497 

CHAPTER  XXX 
MEMORIAL  TRIBUTES  TO  A  NOBLE  LIFE 515 

BY    NOTED    MEN    OF    ENGLAND    AND   AMERICA 

CHAPTER  XXXI 

THE  QUEEN   AND  HER  COLONIES— A  CANADIAN  TRIBUTE    531 
BY  J.  CASTELL  HOPKINS,  F.S.S. 

CHAPTER  XXXII 
THE  VICTORIAN  ERA 543 

CHAPTER  XXXIII 
LIFE  OF  EDWARD  VII.  KING  OF  ENGLAND  .    ,  562 


Sbe  Iflevcr  Swerved  from 

-  BY- 
LORD   ROSEBERY 

Formerly  Liberal  Prime  Minister 

It  is  no  hyperbole  to  say  that  in  the  whole  history  of 
mankind  no  other  death  has  touched  so  large  a  number  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  globe.  1  sometimes  wonder  if  we 
all  realize  how  much  we  owe  her,  because  you  had  to  know 
much  about  the  Queen  to  realize  the  debt  the  nation  and 
her  country  were  under  to  her.  Probably  every  subject 
of  Great  Britain  realizes  that  he  has  lost  his  greatest  and 
best  friend.  She  gave  to  the  councils  of  Great  Britain  an 
advantage  which  no  tongue,  no  brilliance,  no  genius  can 
supply. 

She  was  by  far  the  senior  of  all  the  world's  sov- 
ereigns, and  it  is  no  disparagement  to  other  kings  to  say 
that  she  was  the  chief  of  all  European  sovereigns.  In  the 
pursuit  of  her  duty,  in  the  performance  of  her  duty,  she 
never  swerved,  in  spite  of  increasing  age,  in  spite  of  failing 
eyes,  and  in  spite  of  the  innumerable  domestic  sorrows 
with  which  the  latter  years  of  her  life  were  crowded. 


Untrobuction 

to  the 

Stor?  of  a  Hloble  %ife 


THE  twentieth  century,  which  dawned  hopefully  upon  many 
nations  of  the  earth,  brought  only  gloom  and  grief  to  Eng- 
land ;  gloom  from  the  death  of  her  South  African  soldiers 
on  battle-field  and  in  hospital ;  grief  from  the  passing  away  of  her 
beloved  Queen,  who  had  reigned  over  that  imperial  realm  through 
the  sunshine  and  clouds  of  nearly  two-thirds  of  a  century.  The 
greatness  of  the  nineteenth  century  has  been  abundantly  commented 
upon.  Much  has  been  said  about  its  wonderful  achievements  in 
science,  art,  and  invention,  its  civil,  political,  and  moral  life.  Yet 
it  has  nothing  in  its  historical  annals  to  present  greater  than  the 
life  of  the  noble  Queen,  who  lived  to  see  its  end  and  closed  her  eyes 
upon  the  dawning  days  of  the  new  century. 

Among  the  many  other  sovereigns  of  Great  Britain  there 
have  been  none  who  lived  so  noble  and  pure  a  life  and  presided 
over  such  a  grand  era  of  progress  as  the  royal  lady  Victoria,  whose 
late  decease  plunged  the  nation  into  such  a  depth  of  grief.  Of  the 
other  women  sovereigns — Mary,  Elizabeth  and  Anne — only  one 
could  be  called  great,  and  it  would  be  a  misuse  of  words  to  call  any 
of  them  noble.  Victoria  was  not  great  in  the  sense  of  Elizabeth, 
her  hand  did  not  guide  the  ship-of-state,  this  was  left  to  her  famous 
ministers — Peel,  Gladstone,  and  Disraeli, — but  in  moral  elevation 
and  nobility  of  character  she  rose  far  above  them  all,  and  as  an 
example  for  good,  a  light  in  the  pathway  of  right  living  and  think- 
ing, Victoria  had  no  equal  in  any  of  her  predecessors  on  the  Eng- 
lish throne. 

She  reigned  the  longest  of  them  all,  her  term  of  life  upon  the 
throne  surpassing  that  of  George  the  Third,  her  long-lived  but  not 

xi 


Xll 


illustrious  grandfather.  She  won  the  high  distinction  of  completing 
a  reign  longer  in  years  and  more  illustrious  in  its  ethical  standard 
than  any  that  went  before,  and  the  tears  of  the  people  of  England 
for  their  well-beloved  Sovereign  lady  were  fitly  and  justly  shed. 

It  is  not  well  that  a  woman — whether  Queen  or  commoner — of 
whom  so  much  that  is  good  and  nothing  that  is  evil  can  be  said, 
should  pass  away  and  her  life  remain  unwritten  or  unsung.  We 
feel  it  incumbent  upon  us  to  place  upon  record  the  life  of  this  good 
woman  and  righteous  Queen,  to  tell  the  simple  story  of  her  child- 
hood and  girlhood,  the  shrinking  simplicity  with  which  she  accepted 
the  high  position  to  which  fortune  destined  her,  the  pure  love  story 
of  her  betrothal  and  marriage,  the  happiness  of  the  home  life  to 
which  she  withdrew  from  the  cares  of  state,  the  intense  sorrow 
which  came  to  her  in  the  death  of  her  devoted  husband,  and  the 
many  interesting  events  of  her  life  as  a  woman  and  a  queen. 

Victoria  is  sure  to  live  in  the  chronicles  of  her  country  as  the 
"  Good  Queen."  The  illness  of  no  other  monarch  could  have  given 
the  world  more  concern,  or  excited  such  general  sympathy  and 
regret.  Rulers  whose  personal  qualities  inspire  respect  akin  to 
affection  beyond  the  confines  of  their  own  realms  are  rare.  In  this 
respect  Victoria  stands  almost  alone  among  the  leading  contempo- 
rary sovereigns,  and  it  is  a  cause  for  rejoicing  that  one  of  the  great- 
est of  empires  has  been  ruled  during  two-thirds  of  a  century  by  a 
woman  who  personifies  the  domestic  virtues  and  who  has  been 
accepted  by  her  people,  as  one  of  the  Queen's  admirers  puts  it,  as 
"the  pattern  and  paragon  of  womanhood." 

Victor  Hugo,  in  recalling  the  many  men  and  women  of  high 
and  low  estate  that  he  had  known,  said  in  a  beautiful  generalization 
of  his  estimate  of  humanity  that  there  is  only  one  thing  before 
which  we  should  kneel,  and  that  is  "  goodness."  This  is  the 
homage  that  the  world  cannot  fail  to  pay  to  England's  departed 
Queen.  The  regal  state  and  sovereign  rank  strike  the  imagina- 
tion ;  but  the  homely  virtues  of  Victoria,  her  maternal  love,  her 
life-long  touching  devotion  to  the  memory  of  the  Prince  Consort, 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

the  picture  of  domestic  felicity  in  which  she  is  represented  as  the 
central  and  venerable  figure,  appeal  to  the  common  heart. 

There  was  a  homeliness  in  her  domestic  life  throughout  which 
strongly  attracted  the  middle  classes.  No  sovereign  insisted  more 
strenuously  upon  royal  prerogatives,  or  more  jealously  guarded  her 
royal  interests.  But  along  with  this  rigidity  in  ceremonial  life  there 
was  a  steady  devotion  to  duties  and  a  complete  absence  of  osten- 
tatious show  and  of  theatrical  effects  in  the  inner  life  of  the  Queen's 
court.  On  this  foundation  there  was  reared  during  the  last  fifteen 
years  of  her  life  a  kind  of  legendary  idyl,  domestic  and  pastoral, 
around  her  Majesty,  which  wonderfully  endeared  her  to  the  hearts 
of  her  people. 

We  may  fittingly  quote  the  warm  eulogy  of  the  departed 
Queen  made  by  Commander  Booth-Tucker,  the  American  leader  of 
the  Salvation  Army : 

"  The  venerable  Sovereign  of  the  British  Empire  won  the  affec- 
tionate loyalty  of  the  many  nations  over  whom  she  was  called  upon 
to  rule,  and  the  universal  respect  of  the  civilized  world.  Firm  and 
yet  tactful,  dignified  and  yet  gracious,  she  filled  her  arduous  posi- 
tion with  singular  success,  and  will  doubtless  be  looked  upon  by 
coming  generations  as  a  model  Sovereign. 

"  The  liberation  of  woman  from  the  position  of  a  domestic 
drudge  or  social  butterfly,  and  the  opening  of  doors  of  usefulness 
to  her  in  almost  every  sphere — even  those  of  government — was 
made  possible  largely  by  the  delicacy  and  grace  with  which  this 
foremost  representative  of  her  sex  for  two-thirds  of  a  century  con- 
ducted herself  often  under  circumstances  of  a  very  trying  character. 

"  The  strong  religious  view,  which  she  made  no  attempt  to  con- 
ceal, and  yet  which  did  not  result  in  acts  of  bigotry  towards  those 
who  might  hold  different  views,  increased  the  respect  with  which 
she  was  regarded.  Bishops,  chaplains,  cathedrals,  services,  prayer 
and,  above  all,  the  Bible,  were  closely  interwoven  with  her  daily  life. 

"  She  scrupled  not  to  declare  that  she  regarded  the  Scriptures 
as  the  foundation  of  her  nation's  greatness  and  the  bulwark  of  its 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

security.  After  listening  with  interest  to  the  eloquent  sermons 
of  the  great  divines  who  had  access  to  her  presence  and  whom  she 
delighted  to  honor,  she  would  seek  to  carry  the  comforts  of  the 
good  Book  to  the  sick  or  aged  cottager  on  her  estate,  with  the 
simplicity  of  a  Bible  woman,  and  without  the  least  shadow  of  osten- 
tation. 

"  Other  sovereigns  have  undoubtedly  been  more  talented, 
more  aggressive  and  more  ambitious,  but  Queen  Victoria  was  a 
woman  with  a  heart.  The  sorrows  of  her  people  never  knocked 
vainly  at  her  door.  The  tear  of  sympathy  was  mingled  with  a 
nation's  tears,  as  well  as  with  the  personal  bereavements  and  suffer- 
ings of  individuals. 

"  The  poor  believed  that  in  Victoria  they  had  a  personal 
friend,  a  sympathizer,  a  sister,  a  mother.  And  they  were  not  mis- 
taken. The  royal  court  was  made  a  persistent  centre  for  all  sorts 
of  charities. 

"  The  death  of  Queen  Victoria  was  regarded  by  every  section 
of  the  British  Empire  as  a  national  misfortune.  Indeed,  in  some 
senses  it  might  be  regarded  as  an  international  one.  In  an 
age  of  democracy  the  Queen  did  not  hesitate  to  meet  the  people 
more  than  half  way,  and  was  perhaps  the  most  democratic  ruler  of 
her  day. 

"She  sought  to  encourage  the  comity  of  nations.  Her  whole 
influence  was  thrown  into  the  scale  against  war,  however  righteous 
might  appear  the  cause.  A  sincere  Christian,  a  wise  ruler,  an  affec- 
tionate wife,  a  kind  mother,  a  lover  of  the  poor,  Victoria  was  in  the 
best  sense  of  the  word,  and  will  pass  down  to  posterity  as  a  '  peo- 
ple's Queen.'" 

In  what  is  above  said  of  the  sympathy  felt  for  the  death  of 
England's  Queen  being  international  rather  than  national,  the  people 
of  the  United  States  must  be  included  with  those  of  the  nearer  nations 
of  Europe,  the  event  being  one  well  calculated  to  draw  closer  the 
growing  bonds  of  fellow-feeling  between  the  two  great  nations  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  race. 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

The  American  public  shared  with  the  public  of  the  British 
Empire  the  profound  sympathy,  regret  and  apprehension  with 
which  the  news  of  her  decease  was  heard  around  the  world.  Revered 
as  a  Queen  by  her  subjects  she  was  not  less  respected  as  a  woman 
by  the  citizens  of  the  Republic,  to  which  in  the  hour  of  its  dire  need 
she  was  a  faithful  friend.  No  American  can  forget  that  it  was 
her  act  and  her  influence  which  warded  off  war  in  1862,  nor  that 
through  all  the  sixty-four  years  of  her  reign  she  was  the  friend  of 
America.  In  her  later  years,  in  every  possible  way  open  to  her, 
she  made  known  to  the  world  her  regard  as  a  ruler  for  the  Ameri- 
can Republic  and  her  appreciation  as  a  woman  of  the  affection, 
enthusiasm  and  the  personal  respect  which  she  received  from  the 
American  people.  Nowhere  was  public  grief  stronger;  or  the  sense 
of  a  personal  loss  deeper  than  in  this  country,  where  she  stood  for 
so  many  years  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  men  as  a  woman  true  to 
all  duties  and  a  ruler  loving  peace  and  justice. 


Victoria 
Melita 
b.i'876 


Victoria 
Princess  Koy 

b.  1840 

m,  Emp 
Fred* 


Alh.Ed 

P,  of  Wales 

b 1841  m 

lexa'ndra  of 

Denmark 


Alice 
Gr.Dus? 
of  Hesse 

b.i843 


Alfred 

D.- of 

Edinburgh 
Saxe  Coburj" 

Gothn 

bi8 


Christian 
Victor 
b.186'/ 


elena 

(Princess 

Christian 

of  Schlejwig- 

Holstein] 


Arthur 

D.  of  . 

onnaugn 


Louise 
March" 
of  Lome 


GENEALOGICAL  TREE  OF  THE  QUEEN'S  FAMILY 


CHAPTER  f 

Victoria  and  Her  Empire 

ON  the  2Oth  of  June,  1837,  William  IV.  of  England  died,  and 
his  niece,  the  Princess  Victoria,  acceded  to  the  throne. 
On  the  22nd  of  January,  1901,  Queen  Victoria  died,  ripe 
with  years  and  honors,  after  a  reign  of  sixty-three  years,  seven 
months,  and  two  days,  the  longest  in  the  annals  of  the  British 
throne.  It  was  not  only  the  longest  but  was  the  most  remarkable 
of  British  reigns,  in  view  of  the  extraordinary  progress  of  the  king- 
dom under  her  rule.  In  1837  Great  Britain  had  already  an  exten- 
sive colonial  domain.  We  cannot  show  this  more  clearly  than  by 
quoting  the  telling  words  of  Victor  Hugo,  written  five  years  after 
Victoria  ascended  the  throne  : 

"  England  holds  the  six  greatest  gulfs  in  the  world,  which  are 
che  Gulfs  of  Guinea,  Oman,  Bengal,  Mexico,  Baffin,  and  Hudson  ; 
she  opens  and  shuts  at  her  pleasure  nine  seas — the  North  Sea,  the 
English  Channel,  the  Mediterranean,  the  Adriatic  and  Ionian  Seas, 
the  JEgean  Sea,  the  Persian  Gulf,  the  Red  Sea,  and  the  Sea  of  the 
Antilles.  She  possesses  an  Empire  in  America,  New  Britain  ;  in 
Asia  an  Empire,  India;  and  in  the  Great  Ocean  a  world,  New 
Holland  (Australia).  Besides  she  has  innumerable  isles  upon  all 
seas  and  before  all  continents,  like  ships  on  station  and  at  anchor, 
and  with  which,  island  and  ship  herself,  planted  before  Europe,  she 
communicates,  so  to  speak,  without  dissolving  her  continuity,  by 
her  innumerable  vessels."  This  famous  writer  goes  on  to  give,  in 
his  inimitable  style,  a  word-picture  of  the  vastness  of  the  British 
Empire  as  it  then  existed,  and  adds :  "  All  the  places  we  have 
named  are  the  hooks  of  the  immense  net  whereby  England  has 
\iken  the  world." 

17 


/8  VICTORIA  AND  HER  EMPIRE 

If  such  was  the  empire  under  the  sceptre  of  Victoria  in  the 
early  days  of  her  reign,  what  shall  we  say  of  its  extent  when  the 
new  century  dawned  and  her  reign  had  reached  its  end  ?  In  the 
words  of  a  distinguished  statesman  : 


AFTERNOON  TEA 


4  There  is  no  parallel  in  all  the  records  of  the  world  to  the  case 
of  the  prolific  British  mother  who  has  sent  forth  her  innumerable 


VICTORIA  AND   HER  EMPIRE  i«, 

children  over  all  the  earth  to  be  the  founders  of  half-a-dozen 
Empires."  But  leaving-  these  glowing-  utterances,  let  us  endeavor 
to  outline  briefly  the  extensions  of  her  Empire  which  have  taken 
place  during  the  reign  of  Britain's  Queen. 

Turning  our  eyes  eastward  we  remember  that  India — that 
mighty  and  many-peopled  Empire,  reaching  from  the  giant  moun- 
tain ranges  of  the  Himalayas  on  the  north  to  Cape  Comorin  in  the 
south,  and  including  Burmah  on  the  east, — containing  at  the  last 
census  more  than  290,000,000  human  beings,  speaking  78  differ- 
ent languages,  leaving  out  of  count  the  innumerable  dialects — has 
virtually  been  added  to  the  British  Empire  during  the  epoch  of  the 
Queen's  rule.  * 

Turning  southward,  it  may  be  said  that  the  development  and 
organization  of  the  Australian  Colonies  were  practically  contempo- 
raneous with  Victoria's  reign.  In  1837  only  two  of  the  seven  Aus- 
tralian colonies  existed,  and  their  white  population  was  only  a  few 
thousands.  Now  they  contain  nearly  4,000,000  civilized  inhabi- 
tants, very  largely  of  British  descent,  and  form  virtually  a  Greater 
Britain  beyond  the  seas,  which  promises  to  become  ere  long  a 
mighty  factor  in  the  politics  of  the  world. 

To  these  Australian  domains  have  to  be  added  the  possessions  in 
Fiji,  New  Guinea,  and  other  islands  of  the  Pacific  where  now  waves 
the  British  flag — a  new  Antipodean  Empire,  undreamt  of  in  1837. 

Looking  across  the  Atlantic,  we  perceive  the  broad  Dominion 
of  Canada,  whose  progress  in  population,  wealth  and  resources 
during  the  Victorian  era  has  been  by  leaps  and  bounds.  Manitoba 
and  British  Columbia  are  practically  new  empires.  The  British 
race  has  now  peopled  and  subdued  the  wide  territories  from  New- 
foundland on  the  east  to  Vancouver  on  the  west  ;  from  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  the  great  Lakes  on  the  south  to  Hudson's  Bay  on 
the  extreme  north — a  territory  nearly  as  large  as  Europe. 

Turning  once  more  southward,  we  find  that  in  1837  Cape 
Town  was  the  only  British  settlement  in  South  Africa.  In  1843 
Natal  was  added;  in  1884  Basutoland,  followed  by  Bechuanaland, 


»o  VICTORIA  AND   HER  LMPIRE 

Zululand,  Matabeleland,  and  other  Kingdoms  north  and  south  of 
the  Zambesi,  so  that  now  British  rule  extends  from  Table  Bay  to 
Lake  Tanganyika,  an  inconceivably  vast  region,  tropic  and  torrid, 
yet  gradually  being  occupied  and  utilized  by  the  English  race. 

Similarly  wide  regions  in  West,  Central,  and  Eastern  Africa 
have  come  under  the  rule  of  England.  And  to  these  have  to  be 
added  very  many  islands — the  East  and  West  Indies,  Ceylon, 


IN  THE  QUEEN'S  STABLE 

Straits  Settlements,  Borneo,  Sarawak,  Labuan,  and  numerous 
islands  in  the  Western  and  Southern  Atlantic.  Moreover,  there 
are  settlements  and  ports  innumerable,  from  the  famous  Rock  of  Gib- 
raltar, guarding  the  entrance  to  the  Mediterranean,  to  Cyprus  in  the 
east,  also  British  Guiana  and  British  Honduras  in  Central  America, 
Thus  while  in  1837  Great  Britain  had  already  an  extensive 
colonian  dominion,  by  1901  it  had  grown  to  be  one  of  the  most 
populous  and  extensive  empires  upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  con- 
*rollinor  a  colonial  area  of  such  vast  dimensions  and  abundant 


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VICTORIA  AND  HER  EMPIRE 


population  as  to  remain  almost  without  a  peer  upon  the  earth. 
With  its  386,000,000  of  population,  it  is  only  surpassed,  if  at  all, 
by  the  problematical  myriads  of  the  Chinese  Empire.  With  the 
8,827,860  square  miles  of  area  under  its  control  it  is  more  extended 
than  even  the  vast  Empire  of  Russia,  which  claims  8,660,395  square 
miles. 

Some  conception  of  the  growth  of  the  British  Empire  under 
Victoria  may  be  formed  from  the  following  table,  of  the  dates  of 
its  various  colonial  accessions: 


1839 — Aden  annexed. 

1842 — Hong  Kong  acquired. 

1842 — Natal  taken. 

1843 — Sindee  annexed. 

1846 — Sikh  territory  ceded. 

1849 — Punjaub  annexed. 

1852 — Fegu,  Burmah,  acquired. 

1856 — Oude  annexed. 

1858 — Crown  assumed  rule  of  India. 

1874 — Fiji  Islands  annexed. 


1875 — Sultan's     share    in    Suez    Canal 

bought. 

1878 — Island  of  Cyprus  occupied. 
1886 — Burmah  annexed. 
1890 — Zanzibar  protectorate  assumed. 
1896 — Ashantees   compelled   to   accept 

British  sovereignty. 
1896 — Kitchener  occupied  Dongola. 
1899 — Partition  of  Samoa. 
1900 — Transvaal  and  Orange  Free  State 

annexed. 


In  addition  to  this  extended  list  of  new  possessions,  Great 
Britain  is  in  practical  control  of  Egypt,  and  there  is  no  present 
prospect  of  her  withdrawal  from  the  valley  of  the  Nile.  During 
Victoria's  reign  emigration  has  poured  out  to  her  colonies,  many  of 
which  have  now  assumed  the  condition  rather  of  important  allies 
than  of  vassals  of  the  crown.  Representative  government  was 
gran  ted  to  all  the  important  colonies  in  1865.  Two  years  after- 
wards, in  1867,  the  North  American  provinces  began  to  form  a 
federal  Dominion,  which  is  now  the  wide-spreading  Dominion 
of  Canada.  Later  a  like  movement  was  instituted  in  Australia, 
and  the  opening  day  of  the  twentieth  century  saw  the  inauguration 
of  an  Australian  Confederation.  A  South  African  Confedration 
seems  likely  soon  to  follow.  The  populous  realm  of  India  was 
constituted  an  imperial  colony  in  1876,  the  Queen  being  proclaimed 
Empress  of  India.  As  regards  the  relations  of  these  great  colo- 
nies to  the  mother  country,  two  of  them,  Australia  and  Canada,  are 


VICTORIA  AND  HER  EMPIRE 


practically  independent,  the  governors-general,  who  alone  link 
them  to  the  home  realm,  having  but  a  partial  executive  power. 
But  they  are  firmly  tied  by  bonds  of  common  blood  and  loyal  feel- 
ing, and  Britain's  rare  crown  of  colonies  was,  in  the  last  days  of 
Victoria's  reign,  without  a  flaw  in  its  sparkling  round. 

This  broad  extension  of  the  Sovereignty  of  the  Queen  was  not 
attained  without  frequent  resort  to  arms,  and  her  reign  was  marked 
by  frequent  wars,  principally  for  the  security  of  her  old  colonies  or 
the  establishment  of  new.  We  give  below  a  list  of  what  may  be 
called  the  Victorian  wars — though  it  may  be  said  that  the  Queen 
herself  was  always  opposed  to  the  arbitrament  of  the  sword: 


THE  IWARS  OF  VICTORIA'S  REIGN 


1838- 
1839- 

1840- 
1841- 

1842— 

1845— 


1851- 
1854- 
1856- 


1857- 
1860- 

1867— 


•Insurrection  in  Canada. 

British  forces  occupy  Cabul  and 

take  possession  of  Aden. 

•War  expedition  to  Syria.     Mehe- 

met  Ali  sues  for  peace. 

Successful  insurrection  in  Cabul. 

British   invade    China  and   take 

Canton  and  Amoy. 

British    take    Boer   Republic  in 

Natal. 

Outbreak  of  first  Sikh  war. 

-Insurrection  in  Ireland  attempted. 

Outbreak  of  second  Sikh  war. 

•Hostilities  in  Burmah. 

Crimean  war  began. 

-Crimean  war  finished.      England 

attacks  China.      Persians  occupy 

Herat,  but  British  drive  them  out 

of  India. 

•War  of  the  Indian  mutiny. 

Anglo-French  expedition  to  Pe- 

kin. 

Fenian  insurrection  in  Ireland. 


1874 — Ashantee  war. 

1877 — British  take  Transvaal  Republic. 

1878 — War  against  Afghanistan. 

1879 — War  against  Zulus.  Roberts  en- 
ters Kandahar.  Transvaal  up- 
rising. 

1 88 1— The     battle     of    Majuba     Hill. 

Mahdi  revolt  in  Soudan. 
1882 — War  against  Arabi  Pasha. 
1885 — Invasion    of    Soudan  ;     Gordon 

killed.     Riel  rebellion  in  Canada. 

Conquest  of  Burmah. 
1888 — Defeat   of    Osman     Digna   near 

Suakim. 

189 1 — Osman  Dignacompletely  defeated. 
1893 — War  in  Matabeleland. 
1896 — Kitchener     occupies      Dongola. 

Ashantees    accept     British     sov- 
ereignty. 

1897 — Revolt  of  Indian  hill  tribes. 
1899 — Transvaal    declared   war,    which 

continued  till  after  Queen' s  death. 


While  personally  Queen  Victoria  had  little  to  do  with  this 
broad  extension  of  her  dominion,  the  co-herence  of  the  colonies  to 


VICTORIA  AND  HER  EMPIRh,  25 

the  mother-country  and  their  unswerving  loyalty  owed  much  to  the 
silent  influence  of  her  character  upon  her  far-spread  people.  In 
this  regard  we  may  quote  from  a  Canadian  subject  of  the  Queen 
as  to  the  services  she  has  rendered  the  empire : 

"  Of  the  forces  working  for  union  during  the  past  sixty  years, 
the  most  potent  has  been  the  personality  and  position  of  the 
Sovereign.  The  Queen  was  a  rallying-point  of  loyalty  throughout 
all  the  dark  days  of  early  struggle  and  political  disaffection  in 
Canada,  and  through  the  later  events  of  American  commercial 
coercion  or  efforts  at  annexationist  conciliation  ;  throughout  all  the 
gloomy  days  of  South  African  wars  and  maladministration  and 
imperial  indifference  ;  throughout  the  times  of  Australian  conflict 
with  the  transportation  system  and  struggles  with  a  stormy  and 
rough  mining  democracy  ;  and  throughout  the  days  of  West  Indian 
decadence  or  New  Zealand's  contests  with  powerful  Maories. 
Everywhere  the  name  and  qualities  and  constitutional  action  of 
the  Queen  permeated  Colonial  politics,  preserved  Colonial  loyalty, 
helped  the  British  sentiment  of  the  people,  and  developed  their 
Constitutions  along  British  lines." 

AN  EXTRAORDINARY  PROGRESS  AT  HOME 

While  the  dominions  of  the  Queen  were  thus  rapidly  widen- 
ing abroad,  an  extraordinary  progress  was  taking  place  at  home,  the 
changes  in  social,  political,  scientific,  and  other  fields  being  so  wide 
and  sweeping  that  a  return  to  the  conditions  which  existed  when 
Victoria  first  grasped  the  sceptre  would,  in  many  respects,  seem  like 
a  relapse  into  barbarism. 

Consider  the  social  changes,  the  amelioration  of  the  condition 
of  the  people,  the  attention  given  to  improved  dwellings,  the  short- 
ening- of  the  hours  of  labor,  the  national  boom  of  education,  the 

o 

liberation  of  the  child-slaves  in  mines  and  factories  ;  think,  more- 
over, of  the  present  facilities  of  travel  and  transit,  of  steam  and 
electricity,  of  telegraphs  with  their  instant  communication  to 
earth's  remotest  regions ;  reflect  upon  the  rise  and  beneficence  of 


•o 


VICTOR/ A  AND  HER  EMPIRE 


philanthropy  and  of  the  efforts  now  made  for  the  mitigation  of 
pain,  suffering  and  sorrow  ;  these  and  many  other  tokens  of  progress 
which  have  signalized  the  era  of  the  Queen  merit  close  and  candid 

o  ~ 

consideration  on  the  part  of  those  who  would  tell  aright  the  nation's 
story,  and  in  especial  that  portion  of  it  which  belongs  to  the  reign 
of  the  royal  lady  with  whose  life  we  are  here  concerned. 

Over  this  vast  imperial  domain,  for  nearly  sixty-four  years, 
ruled  a  woman  whom  we  may  pre-eminently  call  the  Queen,  for 
this  title  has  become  so  familiar  to  us  as  designating  Queen  Victoria 
that  men  speak  of  her  by  her  title  without  a  thought  of  being  mis- 
understood. The  reign  of  Victoria,  while  the  longest,  deserves 
also  to  be  called  the  most  illustrious  in  British  history.  Others 
may  have  been  more  sensational.  No  other  saw  so  great  a  progress 
made  in  the  expansion  of  the  Empire,  in  the  development  of  politi- 
cal institutions  and  in  the  industrial,  social,  intellectual  and  spiritual 
advancement  of  the  people. 

Under  her  sway  the  British  Empire  has  grown  to  comprise 
one-fourth  of  the  population  and  one-sixth  of  the  land  era  of  the 
globe,  including  not  only  the  United  Kingdom  and  the  Indian 
Empire,  but  also  such  great  self-governing  nations  as  the  Dominion 
of  Canada  and  the  Commonwealth  of  Australia.  Her  people 
have  proceeded  from  the  status  of  a  scarcely  constitutional  monarchy, 
to  that  of  almost  pure  republicanism,  without  a  revolution  or  any 
violent  upheaval,  but  with  something  like  the  smoothness  and 
continuity  of  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes. 

The  British  nation  has  been  warlike  and  aggressive,  as  of  old, 
yet  has  led  the  world  in  the  industrial  and  commercial  arts  of  peace, 
and,  above  all,  has  attained  in  intellectual  and  spiritual  life  the 
highest  standing  which  nineteen  centuries  of  the  Christian  era  have 
made  possible  to  man.  There  are  few  as  fine  chapters  in  the  his- 
tory of  civilization  as  that  which  records  the  doings  of  the  elder 
branch  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  in  the  last  two-thirds  of  a  century. 
There  is  not  one  comparable  with  it  comprised  within  the  limits  of 
a  single  reign.  And  there  is  record  of  no  other  Sovereign  who 


VICTORIA  AND  HER  EMPIRE  17 

could  so  truly  say,  with  respect  to  anything  like  comparably  great 
achievements,  "all  these  things  I  saw,  and  part  of  them  I  was."  If 
Victoria  did  not  say  that  of  herself,  it  is  but  truth  and  justice  that 
the  world  should  say  it  of  her. 

A    POTENT    AND    MASTERFUL    FORCE 

For  this  Sovereign  was  a  potent  and  masterful  force,  albeit  it 
was  so  often  said  of  her  that  she  reigned  but  did  not  rule.  In  fact, 
she  did  rule,  often  most  arbitrarily.  She  did  not  meddle  with  party 
politics.  She  did  not  aim  at  personal  government.  The  beginning 
of  her  reign  marked  the  complete  establishment  of  constitutionalism 
in  the  United  Kingdom.  Nevertheless,  her  will  was  felt  in  almost 
every  department  of  national  existence.  In  more  than  one  great 
issue  of  State  she  was  the  personal  factor  that  turned  the  scale  for 
peace  and  righteousness. 

There  was  no  statesman  in  her  service  who  paid  more  diligent 
attention  to  even  the  details  of  government  work  than  she,  and 
there  was  not  one  who  did  not  recognize  in  her  a  quality  and  a  force 
of  statesmanship  that  must  be  taken  into  account.  There  were 
few  philanthropists  and  publicists  who  took  so  keen,  so  intelligent 
and  so  effctive  an  interest  in  the  social  welfare  of  the  people.  There 
never  was  a  Puritan  reformer  who  more  inexorably  swept  out  of 
court  all  the  scandal  and  license  and  intrigue  that  had  made  the 
Hanoverian  regime  odious,  or  who  set  and  rigidly  enforced  a  higher 
standard  of  personal  purity  and  integrity  of  life. 

The  Sovereign  was  not  lost  in  the  woman,  as  was  unworthily 
the  case  in  the  reign  of  Anne.  Neither  was  the  woman  lost  in 
the  Sovereign,  as  was  too  often  the  case  amid  the  splendors  of 
the  Elizabethan  era.  And  in  these  circumstances  we  may  perhaps 
find  Victoria's  highest  title  to  illustrious  fame.  If  we  may  para- 
phrase the  words  of  Antony,  her  life  was  gentle  and  the  elements 
so  mixed  in  her  that  the  world  must  proclaim  her  to  have  been  at 
once  a  great  Queen  and  a  noble  woman. 


28  VICTORIA  AND  HER  EMPIRE 

Throughout  her  reign,  with  the  exception  of  the  brief  interval 
of  the  Crimean  War,  Great  Britain  remained  at  peace  with  Europe— 
a  fact  which  probably  cannot  be  affirmed  of  any  equal  period  of 
British  history  since  the  Norman  Conquest.  There  have  been 
rumors  of  war,  numbers  of  them,  but  they  died  away  like  muttering 
thunders,  their  disappearance  hastened,  perhaps  by  the  influence  of 
Britain's  Queen,  who  loved  not  war  or  its  trophies. 

Outside  Europe,  indeed,  this  cannot  be  said.  Hardly  a  year 
passed  without  its  little  war — sometimes  developing  into  more  than 
a  little  one.  But  insurrections  in  Canada,  suppressions  of  the  New 
Zealand  Maoris,  punitive  expeditions  into  Ashanti  and  Burmah  and 
Afghanistan  and  Abyssinia  and  even  the  re-establishment  of  order 
in  China  and  in  Egypt  came  and  went  without  disturbing  the 
peace  of  Europe.  There  were  anxious  moments  too,  as  when  the 
Sepoy  mutiny  imperilled  the  possession  of  India  for  a  while,  or 
when  the  whole  military  power  of  England  was  drawn  upon  to 
subdue  the  Dutch  republics  of  South  Africa — a  war  which  accord- 
ing to  the  prevailing  report  was  carried  on  against  the  aged  Queen's 
wishes  and  saddened  her  last  days. 

PROFITABLE  GAINS  OF  TERRITORY 

These  many  conflicts  had  their  material  advantage  in  adding 
to  the  British  Kingdom  profitable  gains  of  territory,  including 
South  Africa  to  the  north  of  the  Zambesi,  Nigeria,  East  Africa, 
Nyassaland,  Egypt  and  the  Soudan  to  Uganda  in  the  Dark  Conti- 
nent, the  nearly  unbroken  line  from  the  Cape  to  Cairo  ;  the 
extended  boundaries  of  India,  Beluchistan,  Burmah,  and  other 
East  Indian  territories  in  Asia  ;  New  Guinea  and  countless  islands 
of  the  Pacific,  with  Australia  grown  into  a  strong  commonwealth. 
Gains  not  in  lands  alone,  but  in  the  increase  of  the  sturdy  English 
stock.  It,  perhaps,  may  be  safely  said,  however,  that  Queen  Vic- 
toria would  gladly  have  given  up  these  material  advantages  for  her 
country,  could  she,  by  so  doing,  have  prevented  the  bloodshed,  ruin 
and  misery  which  their  acquisition  brought  to  mankind. 


VICTORIA  AND  HER  EMPIKH  <o 

Far  greater  were  the  material  changes  that  came  to  England 
during  Queen  Victoria's  reign.  She  lived  to  see  the  bulwarks  of 
England  changed  from  the  great  wooden  three-deckers,  with  their 
spread  of  sail  and  their  muzzle-loading  guns  that  did  their  duty  at 
Trafalgar,  to  steel-armored  cases  of  machinery  hurling  projectiles 
to  a  distance  of  a  dozen  miles,  and  destroyers  hastening  at  thirty 
knots  an  hour  to  discharge  their  torpedoes  under  water. 

She  lived  to  see  an  England  mainly  agricultural  turned  into  a 
hive  of  mechanical  industries  and-  gridironed  with  railroads.  She 
opened  the  first  international  exhibition,  she  sent  the  first  cable 
message  across  the  Atlantic — but  the  record  of  her  reign  is  really 
the  record  of  two-thirds  of  the  century,  a  record  of  progress  in  arts, 
in  sciences,  in  material  improvements,  in  commerce,  in  wealth. 

The  population  of  Great  Britain  has  increased  from  26,000,000 
to  38,000,000,  while  Ireland,  the  black  blot  on  the  reign,  has  fallen 
from  over  eight  million  inhabitants  to  four  millions  and  a  half. 
The  great  Colonies,  too,  have  been  brought  closer,  and  the  ideal  of 
a  Greater  Britain,  including  even  India,  has  acquired  a  misty  out- 
line. A  prosperous  reign,  surely,  and  a  golden  age  for  England, 
and  to  it  the  gentle,  kindly  woman  of  whom  we  speak  contributed 
to  the  utmost  that  which  her  power  and  influence  could  aid. 

One  thing  further  that  we  may  say  of  the  Queen's  reign  is, 
that  the  long  interval  during  which  the  Sovereign  found  no  occa- 
sion to  assert  herself  openly  against  the  wishes  of  her  Ministers, 
reduced  still  further  the  shadow  of  authority  left  to  the  Crown  by 
the  British  Constitution.  The  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  backed  by 
his  party  majority  in  the  House  of  Commons,  was  more  absolutely 
the  ruler  of  Great  Britain  when  the  century  closed  than  was  Lord 
Melbourne  at  the  Queen's  accession,  or  William  Pitt  when  the 
century  opened.  Despite  the  deserved  affection  and  loyalty  of  the 
mass  of  the  English  people  for  their  Queen,  which  extends  likewise 
to  the  rest  of  the  royal  family,  Great  Britain  is  to-day  in  fact,  if ' 
not  in  form,  a  republican  commonwealth  ruled  by  its  elective  rep- 
resentatives. 


jo  VICTORIA  AND  HER  EMPIRE 

Queen  Victoria  ruled  far  more  over  the  hearts  of  her  subjects 
than  over  their  persons  orfortunes.  From  themomentof  heraccession 
she  never  lost  her  hold  upon  their  affections ;  nay,  she  unceasingly 
made  it  stronger  and  deeper.  No  one  who  has  not  inherited  it  can 
know  the  feeling  cherished  for  the  person  of  a  sovereign  ;  and  that 
j  Victoria  enjoyed  to  a  degree  not  equalled  by  any  monarch  of  her 
time.  As  the  power  of  the  Crown  declined  her  personal  qualities 
as  a  woman  grew  steadily  more  magnified  and  loved.  For  years 
the  faithfulness  of  the  wife  and  mother  who  sat  on  the  throne 
inspired  with  constantly  increasing  emphasis  the  speech  of  every 
Englishman  who  responded  to  "The  Queen."  She  came  to  be  the 
ideal  Matron  of  a  passionately  home-loving  people,  and  as  such  she 
broadened  and  inflamed  the  innate  reverence  for  the  nation's  ruler. 
And  yet,  little  and  old  as  she  was,  it  is  said  that  no  sovereign  in 
Europe  preserved  to  the  last,  like  her,  the  quality  and  air  of 
Royalty. 

A    MODEST    CHARACTER 

There  have  been  many  greater  sovereigns  than  Victoria,  but 
there  has  never  been  one  more  richly  endowed  with  the  qualities 
that  win  the  people's  affection.  The  story  of  her  painfully  climb- 
ing to  the  top  of  one  of  her  palaces  a  few  months  before  her  death 
to  cheer  a  sick  servant,  at  a  time  when  her  own  condition  made  every 
step  she  took  a  matter  of  state  importance,  was  the  sort  of  thing 
that  counted  more  than  intellectual  brilliancy  in  winning  the  devo- 
tion of  her  subjects. 

Indeed,  a  more  brilliant  sovereign  might  have  had  a  less  suc- 
cessful reign.  It  was  the  British  nation  that  was  to  make  its 
empire  great.  An  intellectual  prodigy  at  Windsor  could  have 
done  nothing  to  advance  the  national  destiny,  and  might  have  done 
much  to  hamper  it.  A  Napoleon,  a  Cromwell  or  a  Frederick  the 
Great  on  the  throne  of  England  could  hardly  have  restrained  him- 
self from  an  attempt  at  a  personal  government.  At  the  stage 
which  English  constitutional  development  had  reached  at  that  time 
that  would  have  meant  friction,  strife  and  possibly  a  crash.  What 


GREAT  EUROPEAN  MONARCHS 

CONTEMPORARY  WITH  (JW:K  VICTORIA- 


VICTORIA  AND  HER  EMPIXE  33 

was  needed  was  a  self-effacing  monarch — one  whose  modest  char- 
acter would  form  a  neutral  background  on  which  the  splendid 
picture  of  national  energy  might  be  effectively  painted. 

Victoria  was  the  perfect  ruler  of  the  Nineteenth  Century.  She 
might  have  failed  in  the  place  of  Zenobia,  of  Elizabeth  or  of  Cathe- 
rine II.,  but  coming  just  when  she  did  she  made  the  "Victorian 
Age  "  the  most  splendid  era  in  the  history  of  her  country.  It  is 
often  said  that  her  virtues  extinguished  republicanism  in  England. 
It  is  more  accurate  to  say  that  her  wise  appreciation  of  her  posi- 
tion allowed  democracy  to  advance  to  such  a  point  that  it  became 
no  longer  a  matter  of  importance  to  Englishmen  whether  their 
government  was  nominally  a  republic  or  a  monarchy. 

In  1837  the  possibility  of  having  a  George  III.  or  a  George 
IV.  on  the  throne  was  a  serious  affair  and  made  people  in  England 
consider  gravely  whether  they  were  living  under  the  best  possible 
form  of  government.  In  1901  no  king  can  do  serious  harm,  for  the 
government  is  in  the  hands  of  the  people. 

THE    PRESERVATION    OF    PEACE    IN    EUROPE 

Returning  to  the  question  of  the  preservation  of  peace  in 
Europe,  the  wide-spread  alliances  of  Queen  Victoria's  descendants 
with  the  monarchs  of  powerful  nations  can  scarcely  fail  to  have  had 
a  retarding  effect  upon  threatened  hostile  relations.  In  the  words 
of  one  writer :  "  With  direct  descendants,  by  birth  or  marriage, 
upon  two  of  the  great  thrones  of  Europe,  with  other  numerous  and 
minor,  though  not  unimportant,  alliances  in  different  countries,  who 
shall  say  what  opportunities  of  wise  councils  may  have  presented 
themselves  to  this  royal  mother,  mother-in-law,  grandmother,  and 
great-grandmother,  whom  discretion  hath  preserved  and  under- 
standing kept  ?  Who  shall  even  guess  what  extremities  may  have 
been  averted,  what  impetuosities  calmed,  what  rough  places  made 
smooth,  or  what  desirable  conjunctions  promoted  by  her  quiet 
word  in  season  dropped  into  ears  not  at  all  moments  open  to 
advice,  though  ever  attentive  to  the  speech  of  her  lips?" 


34  VICTORIA  AND  HER  EMPIRE 

An  incident  which  was  recently  given  in  the  daily  papers  illus 
trates  in  an  amusing  way  the  relationship  and  tender  bond  existing 
between  her  Majesty  and  exalted  families  on  the  Continent : 

At  a  military  gathering  in  Berlin,  a  colonel  advanced  towards 
a  young  lieutenant,  who  bore  on  his  breast  as  a  sole  decoration  a 
large  badge  richly  set  with  diamonds. 

"  Tell  me,  young  man,"  he  said,  "  what  is  that  thing  you  have 
got  there  ? " 

"  It  is  an  Order,  my  colonel,"  replied  the  lieutenant. 

44  An  Order  !  "  exclaimed  the  colonel.  "  It  is  not  Prussian,  then, 
for  I  don't  know  it." 

"  It  is  an  English  Order,  my  colonel,"  responded  the  juvenile 
officer. 

"  Ah,  indeed,"said  his  superior,  "  who,  for  goodness  sake,  could 
have  given  you  such  an  Order  ?  " 

"  My  grandmother,  my  colonel,"  was  the  reply. 

"Your  grandmother!"  ejaculated  the  colonel,  bursting  out 
laughing  ;  "  what  is  her  name  ?  " 

"  Her  Majesty  Queen  Victoria,  Queen  of  England,"  answered 
the  young  lieutenant,  who  was  none  other  than  Prince  Albert  of 
Schleswig-Holstein. 

The  officious  colonel  (it  is  added)  suddenly  disappeared. 

It  is  the  popular  impression  that  the  Queen  had  little  share  in 
the  responsibilities  of  the  government,  but  that  is  a  mistake.  The 
Prime  Minister  of  England  did  not  go  to  bed  for  forty  years 
without  making  a  written  report  to  his  Sovereign  of  everything  of 
importance  that  had  occurred  in  official  circles  during  the  day,  and 
fchese  reports  were  laid  upon  Victoria's  plate  at  her  breakfast 
table  daily  without  interruption  even  after  the  death  of  the  Prince 
Consort,  whether  she  was  at  Osborne  or  Balmoral  or  on  the  Riviera 
or  visiting  the  palaces  of  some  of  her  royal  progeny.  Those  who 
have  been  in  the  House  of  Commons  during  the  late  night  sessions 
have  always  noticed  Gladstone  or  Rosebery  or  Salisbury,  or  who- 
ever was  at  the  head  of  the  government,  with  a  block  of  paper  on 


VICTORIA, AND  HER  EMPIRE  3i. 

his  knees  making  memoranda  of  the  proceedings,  like  the  reporters 
in  the  gallery,  and  if  he  had  been  followed  to  the  post-office  of  the 
Parliament  House  before  leaving  for  his  home  he  would  have  been 
t  seen  to  drop  into  the  pouch  an  envelope  addressed  to  his  imperial 
Sovereign  which  contained  the  penciled  notes.  The  Queen  was 
very  exacting  on  this  point.  She  did  not  often  interfere  with  the 
policy  of  her  Ministers,  but  insisted  that  she  should  be  informed 
of  all  they  said  and  did  in  her  name. 

THE   CROWN    AS    A    POWER    ABOVE    PARTY 

One  of  the  former  Ambassadors  from  the  United  States,  speak- 
ing of  this,  told  an  incident  that  came  within  his  own  experience. 
"  At  one  time,"  he  said,  "  I  had  a  very  important  interview  with 
Lord  Salisbury,  and,  by  instructions  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  made  certain  representations  of  an  unusually  serious  nature 
to  him.  The  developments  of  the  next  day  were  such  as  to  change 
entirely  the  policy  of  our  government.  It  became  necessary  for  me 
to  call  upon  his  lordship  and  inform  him  that  the  representations  I 
had  made  the  morning  before  were  withdrawn,  and  requested  him 
to  consider  that  the  conversation  had  never  occurred.  He  expressed 
his  pleasure,  and  then  remarked  : 

"  '  I  am  a  devilish  lucky  man,  and  so  are  you.  For  the  first 
time  since  I  have  been  Prime  Minister  I  neglected  my  duty  yester- 
day and  failed  to  inform  her  Majesty  of  our  conversation.  I  never 
did  such  a  thing  before.  I  do  not  know  what  impelled  me  to  forget 
it  this  time,  but  I  was  under  the  influence  of  some  good  angel,  and 
she  need  never  know  anything  about  it.' " 

The  Queen,  indeed,  to  an  extent  that  only  a  minor  section  of 
the  public  appreciates,  and  as  no  other  modern  sovereign  of  Eng- 
land has  done,  realized  and  made  manifest  the  value  of  the  Crown 
as  a  power  above  party  and  representative  of  the  whole  people. 
She  constantly  acted  to  check  Ministers  who,  to  gain  party  vic- 
tories, stood  ready  to  make  national  sacrifices,  and,  when  the 
records  of  her  later  years  come  to  be  written,  many  instances  of 


36  VICrORIA  AND  HLR 

this  kind  will  be  shown,  in  which  the  Queen  by  direct  counsel  pre- 
vented a  wrongful  course  being  taken,  or  where  the  action  taken 
met  with  her  approbation  gave  testimony  of  her  sympathy  and 
appreciation. 

All  government,  party  or  otherwise,  has  for  its  warrant  of 
existence  only  the  welfare  of  the  governed  ;  but  the  leaders  of  par- 
tics  are  very  apt  to  forget  this.  It  is  the  function  of  the  monarch 
never  to  forget  it,  but  to  use  every  influence  to  prevent  the  interests 
of  the  nation  as  a  whole  from  being  sacrificed  for  the  temporary 
advantage  of  a  portion  of  the  people. 

The  Queen  fully  realized  this,  and  also  that  in  England  the 
will  of  the  people  is  the  ultimate  power ;  and  her  private  opinions 
on  political  questions  were  never  suffered  to  influence  her  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  popular  will.  Many  of  her  Ministers  have  stated  their 
experience  of  the  Queen's  recognition  of  and  obedience  to  this  fun- 
damental principle.  Her  private  opinion  was  never  suffered  to 
stand  in  the  way  of  her  duty  as  a  constitutional  sovereign.  She 
by  no  means  blindly  yielded  to  the  proposals  of  her  Ministers,  but 
exercised  a  moderating  influence  in  party  conflicts,  and  in  matters 
threatening  a  contest  between  the  Lords  and  Commons  often  pre- 
vented matters  from  coming  to  a  crisis,  reminding  the  Lords  that 
the  will  of  the  people  is  the  basis  of  all  authority,  and  bringing  the 
leaders  of  the  Commons  into  a  spirit  of  conciliation  and  moderate 
action.  In  this  way  she  served  as  an  invaluable  arbitrator,  and  in 
her  life  checked  many  a  hasty  action  that  threatened  to  lead  to 
serious  political  consequences. 

HER    SYMPATHY    FOR    THE    UNITED    STATES 

We  may  adduce  some  examples  of  this  which  directly  concern 
the  United  States,  a  country  with  whose  best  interests  the  Queen 
was  ever  in  warm  sympathy. 

During  the  Civil  War  the  British  government,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  cotton  manufacturers  of  Manchester  and  the  other 
commercial  and  industrial  interests  of  the  United  Kingdom,  was 


VICTORIA  AND  HER  EMPIRE  37 

friendly  to  the  Confederacy,  but  Queen  Victoria  was  on  the  Union 
side,  and  never  permitted  them  to  offer  aid  or  comfort  to  the  South 
when  she  could  prevent  it.  At  the  greatest  crisis  of  the  struggle 
so  far  as  England  was  concerned,  when  two  Confederate  envoys 
were  forcibly  taken  from  a  British  steamer  by  an  imprudent  Union 
naval  officer,  Lord  Palmerston  wrote  a  despatch  to  the  British 
Ambassador  at  Washington  that  was  equivalent  to  a  declaration 
of  war.  As  usual  with  everything  of  this  kind,  the  message  was 
sent  to  Windsor  Castle  for  approval.  The  Queen  kept  it  over 
night,  and  the  next  morning  returned  it  to  her  Prime  Minister,  with 
every  offensive  phrase  stricken  out. 

During  the  Spanish-American  War  Lord  Pauncefote  paid  two 
visits  in  person  to  the  White  House  and  saw  the  President  alone. 
On  these  occasions  he  brought  messages  from  his  Sovereign,  The 
first  visit  was  made  at  the  time  when  the  President  had  sent  his 
ultimatum  to  Spain  requiring  the  withdrawal  of  the  Spanish  army 
from  Cuba  and  the  recognition  of  Cuban  independence.  The  atti- 
tude of  the  other  powers  of  Europe  was  unfriendly.  Spain  had 
appealed  for  their  protection  and  intervention  was  feared.  Hence 
the  message  Lord  Pauncefote  bore  was  gratifying  and  opportune, 
for  he  said  that  he  had  been  commanded  by  her  Majesty  the  Queen 
to  assure  President  McKinley  of  her  faith  in  his  motives  and  her 
confidence  in  his  wisdom,  and  that  the  government  of  Great  Br> 
tain  would  support  him  in  any  measures  he  might  adopt  to  restore 
peace  in  Cuba  and  relieve  the  inhabitants  of  that  island  from  the 
tyranny  of  Spain. 

The  second  visit  was  made  while  the  Peace  Commissioners 
were  in  session  at  Paris,  and  it  was  the  natural  consequence  of  the 
first,  for  the  message  on  this  occasion  carried  an  even  greater 
responsibility  than  the  first.  He  said  that  the  Queen  had  commanded 
him  to  say  that  any  disposition  of  the  Philippine  Islands  that 
left  them  subject  to  the  sovereignty  of  any  government  but  the 
United  States  would  be  greatly  regretted  by  her  government. 
Thus  more  than  anybody  else  was  Queen  Victoria  responsible  for 


38  VICTORIA  AND  HER  EMPIRE 

the  Philippine  problem  that  is  now  perplexing  the  United  States. 
Nobody  knows  what  might  have  happened  if  that  message  had  not 
been  sent,  but,  having  received  it,  President  McKinley  had  only 
one  course  to  pursue. 

With  the  exception  of  Alexander  II.  of  Russia,  who  stood  so 
closely  behind  President  Lincoln  during  the  Civil  War,  Queen 
Victoria  was  probably  the  most  consistent  valuable  friend  the 
United  States  has  ever  had  among  the  sovereigns  of  Europe.  She 
never  lost  an  opportunity  to  show  her  goodwill  and  friendship  ;  she 
never  failed  to  offer  her  support  and  encouragement  when  needed. 

During  the  jubilee  ceremonies  in  1887,  a  party  of  American 
tourists  engaged  a  tally-ho  coach  for  the  purpose  of  witnessing  the 
entrance  of  the  Queen  into  London,  and  stationed  themselves  at  a 
convenient  turn  of  the  road  in  Hyde  Park,  which  they  knew  she 
would  pass.  By  some  oversight  of  the  police  they  were  permitted 
to  enter  the  park,  and  were  not  discovered  until  the  Queen's  car- 
riage was  upon  them,  when  the  guards  made  a  great  ado  and  were 
about  to  send  the  whole  party  to  prison.  The  Queen's  progress 
was  stopped  for  the  moment,  and,  beckoning  to  an  officer,  she 
asked  the  cause  of  the  detention.  Hearing  his  explanation,  she 
said  in  a  tone  that  was  perfectly  audible  to  the  strangers  : 

"  If  they  are  Americans  let  them  stay." 

At  this,  every  lady  on  the  coach  arose  and  waved  her  hand- 
kerchief, and  every  gentleman  waved  his  hat  and  one  of  them 
gave  "three  cheers  for  Queen  Victoria,  the  friend  of  the  United 
States."  At  this  she  smiled,  and  made  alow  bow  of  acknowledgment. 

That  evening  one  of  the  gentlemen  addressed  a  formal  letter 
to  the  Queen,  apologizing  for  the  incident,  explaining  the  presence 
of  the  party  behind  the  police  line,  and  thanking  her  for  her 
gracious  intervention.  Within  a  few  days  he  received  a  reply  from 
the  Queen's  secretary,  who  said  that  her  Majesty  had  commanded 
him  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the  explanation,  and  to  say  that 
it  always  gave  her  pleasure  and  gratification  to  think  that  the 
American  people  were  her  friends. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Childhood   of   the   Young    Princess. 

ON  the  24th  of  May,  1819,  in  the  old  Palace  at  Kensington, 
West  London,  a  royal  seat  of  King  William  III.  and 
Queen  Mary,  was  born  a  blue-eyed,  fair-haired  girl  baby, 
who,  at  that  time,  no  one  dreamed  would  one  day  become  Queen 
of  England.  George  III.  was  then  King,  and  between  the  little 
princess  and  the  throne  stood  his  three  sons,  the  Dukes  of  York, 
Clarence,  and  Kent.  The  new-born  child  was  the  only  child  of  the 
youngest  of  these,  the  Duke  of  Kent,  and  any  children  born 
to  her  two  uncles  would  have  debarred  her  from  the  throne.  They 
both  reigned,  the  first  as  George  IV.,  who  was  childless,  the  sec- 
ond as  William  IV.,  whose  only  child,  a  daughter,  died  in  infancy. 
Thus  nature  seemed  to  have  preserved  the  throne  of  England  for 
that  blue-eyed  infant,  who  was  so  worthily  to  fill  it  in  after  years. 

The  Duke  of  Kent  had  married,  in  181 8,  the  Princess  Victoria 
Mary  Louisa,  of  Saxe-Coburg  Saalfield,  widow  of  Prince  Charles, 
of  Leiningen,  and  sister  of  Prince  Leopold,  afterwards  King  of 
the  Belgians.  The  little  princess,  while  not  regarded  as  heir  to  the 
Crown  of  England,  was  warmly  welcomed  and  highly  honored. 
Her  father,  who  grew  to  love  her  warmly,  had  loftier  hopes  for  her, 
and  is  said  to  have  exclaimed  :  "  Look  at  her  well !  She  will  one 
day  be  Queen."  When  a  month  old  she  was  baptized  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  the  Bishop  of  London  assisting.  The  cere- 
mony was  one  of  great  pomp  and  splendor,  the  golden  royal  font 
being  brought  from  the  Tower  of  London  for  the  occasion.  The 
Prince  Regent  wished  to  give  her  the  name  of  Georgiana  Alex- 
andrina,  but  it  was  finally  decided  to  name  her  Alexandrina  Vic- 
toria,  the  latter  name  that  of  her  mother.  During  her  childhood 

39 


4o 


CHILDHOOD  OF  THE  YOUNG  PRINCESS 


she  was  generally  known  as  the  Princess  "  Drina,"  but  in  later 
years  she  called  herself  Victoria  alone,  wishing  to  be  knoivn  by  her 
mother's  name. 

When  about  six  months  old,  the  little  Princess  was  taken  by 
her  parents  to  Sidmouth,  a  pretty  watering-place  on  the  Devon- 
shire coast.  Here  she  had  a  very  narrow  escape  from  being  killed. 

It  seems  a  boy  was 
shooting  sparrows  near 
the  house,  when  he  acci- 
dentally fired  a  charge 
of  small  shot  through 
the  nursery  window, 
some  of  the  pellets  pass- 
ing close  to  the  head 
of  the  royal  infant, 
then  in  hernurse's  arms, 
but  happily  without 
hurting  anyone. 

When  three  years 
old  the  Princess  had 
another  deliverance 
from  danger.  When 
driving  with  her  mother 
in  Kensington  Gar- 
dens, she  was  thrown 
out  of  her  pony  car- 
riage, which  would  have 
fallen  over  upon  her 
but  for  the  quickness 

of  a  soldier,  who  seized  her  dress  and  pulled  her  out.  He  was 
rewarded  by  the  Duchess,  but  more  than  half  a  century  passed 
before  he  learned  whose  life  it  was  he  had  saved. 

The  affectionate  father  did  not  long  live  to  enjoy  his  "  little 
mayflower"     One  day,  while  at  Sidmouth,  on  the  coast  of  Devon 


THE  ROYAL  PEW  IN  THE  CHAPEL  ROYAL 


n 

"=•  z 

-     Cfl 

=  z 
r  o 


43 

he  came  in  with  wet  feet  after  a  walk  in  the  grounds.  He  was 
urged  to  change  his  boots  and  socks,  but,  seeing  his  infant  smiling 
on  her  mother's  knee,  he  snatched  her  up  and  began  playing  with 
his  darling.  This  neglect  brought  on  a  chill,  and  inflammation  of 
the  lungs  ensued.  A  country  doctor  was  called  in,  who,  according 
to  the  old  fashion,  bled  him  severely  (120  ounces  of  blood  !). 
Then  an  eminent  London  doctor  was  sent  for,  but  too  late  to  save 
his  life.  On  Sunday,  January  23,  1820,  the  Duke  died,  praying 
with  his  latest  breath  for  his  wife  in  her  heavy  responsibility  of 
training  the  Princess  child. 

Right  nobly  did  the  Duchess  of  Kent  discharge  her  important 
duty.  At  the  time  she  could  speak  scarcely  a  word  of  English, 
but  she  devoted  herself  with  great  assiduity  and  prudence  to  the 
bringing  up  of  her  child.  Princess  Victora  received  her  education 
under  her  mother's  constant  and  loving  care,  being  kept  during  her 
early  years,  by  order  of  the  King,  in  strict  seclusion. 

Two  days  after  the  death  of  the  Duke,  the  Duchess  of  Kent, 
accompanied  by  her  babe  and  her  brother,  Prince  Leopold,  set  out 
for  London.  Where  all  was  sad  and  mournful  there  was  one  gleam 
of  sunshine,  for  the  infant,  "  being  held  up  at  the  carriage  window 
to  bid  the  assembled  population  of  Sidmouth  farewell,  sported  and 
laughed  joyously,  and  patted  the  glasses  with  her  pretty  dimpled 
hands,  in  happy  unconsciousness  of  her  melancholy  bereavement." 
The  Duchess  arrived  at  Kensington  Palace  on  the  2Qth  of  January, 
and  on  that  very  day  the  Prince  Regent  succeeded  to  the  throne  by 
the  death  of  his  father.  The  likeness  of  the  Duke  of  York  to  her 
lost  father  deceived  the  little  Princess  Victoria,  and  when  the  former 
came  on  his  visit  of  condolence,  and  also  subsequently,  she  stretched 
out  her  hands  to  him  in  the  belief  that  he  was  her  father.  The 
Duke  was  deeply  touched  by  the  appeal,  and,  clasping  the  child  to 
his  bosom,  he  promised  to  be  indeed  a  father  to  her. 

Interesting  stories  are  told  of  the  time  when  Princess  Victoria 
appeared,  at  fifteen  months  old,  in  a  child's  phaeton,  tied  safely  to 
the  vehicle  with  a  broad  ribbon  around  her  waist.  The  baby  liked 


44  CHILDHOOD  OF  THE  YOUNG  PRINCESS 

to  be  noticed,  and  answered  all  who  spoke  to  her.  She  would  say, 
"  Lady,"  and  '*  Good  Morning,"  and,  when  told,  would  holdout  her 
soft,  dimpled  hand  to  be  kissed.  "  Her  large,  blue  eyes,  beautiful 
bloom  and  fair  complexion  made  her  a  model  of  infantine  beauty." 

The  life  at  Kensington  was  as  simple  as  that  of  any  English 
household.  The  family  party  met  at  breakfast  at  eight  o'clock  in 
summertime,  the  Princess  Victoria  having  her  bread  and  milk  and 
fruit  on  a  little  table  by  her  mother's  side.  After  breakfast,  the 
Princess  Feodore  studied  with  her  governess,  Baroness  Lehzen,  and 
the  Princess  Victoria  went  out  for  an  hour's  walk  or  drive.  From 
ten  to  twelve  her  mother  instructed  her ;  after  which  she  amused 
herself  by  running  through  the  suite  of  rooms  which  extended 
round  two  sides  of  the  palace,  and  in  which  were  many  of  her  toys. 
At  two  came  a  plain  dinner,  while  the  Duchess  took  her  luncheon. 
After  this,  lessons  again  till  four,  then  would  come  a  visit  or  a 
drive ;  and  after  that  the  Princess  would  ride  or  walk  in  the  gar- 
dens ;  or  occasionally,  on  very  fine  evenings,  the  whole  party  would 
sit  out  on  the  lawn  under  the  trees.  At  the  time  of  her  mother's 
dinner,  the  Princess  had  her  supper,  and  after  playing  games  with 
her  nurse,  she  would  join  in  the  dessert,  and  at  nine  she  would  re- 
tire to  her  bed,  which  was  placed  by  the  side  of  her  mother's. 

Occasionally  the  child  longed  for  companions  of  her  own  age, 
and  a  delightful  anecdote  is  related  in  illustration  of  this.  As  the 
youthful  Princess  took  great  delight  in  music,  her  mother  sent  for 
a  noted  child  performer  of  the  day,  called  Lyra,  to  amuse  her  with 
her  remarkable  performances  on  the  harp.  On  one  occasion, 
while  the  young  musician  was  playing  one  of  her  favorite  airs,  the 
Duchess  of  Kent,  perceiving  how  deeply  her  daughter's  attention 
was  engrossed  with  the  music,  left  the  room  for  a  few  minutes. 
When  she  returned  she  found  the  harp  deserted.  The  heiress  of 
England  had  beguiled  the  juvenile  minstrel  from  her  instrument 
by  the  display  of  some  of  her  costly  toys,  and  the  children  were 
discovered  "seated  side  by  side  on  the  hearthrug  in  a  state  of  high 
enjoyment,  surrounded  by  the  Princess's  playthings,  from  which  si  r 


CHILDHOOD  OF  THE  YOUNG  PRINCESS  45 

was  making  the  most  liberal  selections  for  the  acceptance  of  poor 
little  Lyra." 

Lord  Albemarle,  in  his  "  Autobiography,"  tells  of  how  he  used 
to  watch  her  from  the  window  at  play  in  the  garden.  "  She  was  in 
the  habit  of  watering  the  plants  immediately  under  the  window.  It 
was  amusing  to  see  how  impartially  she  divided  the  contents  of  the 
watering-pot  between  the  flowers  and  her  own  little  feet."  Her 
simple  but  becoming  dress  contrasted  favorably  with  the  gorgeous 
apparel  now  worn  by  the  little  damsels  of  the  rising  generation. 

A    SUPERFLUITY    OF    PLAYTHINGS 

The  little  Victoria  could  well  give  a  share  of  her  toys  to  her 
playmate, — as  in  the  anecdote  above  stated, — for  she  was  abun- 
dantly supplied,  the  lonely  life  with  which  palace  etiquette  surrounds 
the  children  of  royalty  being  solaced,  as  far  as  possible,  with  a  super- 
fluity of  playthings.  We  are  told  that  at  one  time  she  was  the 
proud  possessor  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  dolls  at  once. 

Although  very  ordinary  little  Dutch  toys,  many  of  them  with 
painted  wooden  faces,  they  have  all  been  preserved  with  many  other 
mementoes  of  the  childhood  of  England's  remarkable  sovereign. 
Most  of  these  dolls  represent  ballet-dancers  of  the  Queen's  child- 
hood, in  costume. 

In  her  memoirs  the  Queen  writes  that  she  was  frequently  taken 
to  the  opera,  and  that  she  enjoyed  it  very  much.  At  home  in  her 
nursery,  the  forlorn  little  girl  played  over  and  over  again  the  operas 
and  ballads  of  which  she  was  so  fond,  with  her  little  wooden 
puppets  dressed  in  scraps  of  rich  silk  and  satin.  The  modern 
mother  and  her  trained  nursery  maid  may  picture  the  Princess  alone 
in  a*big  house  with  few  attendants,  silently  amusing  herself  with 
her  toy  theatre  and  its  wooden  ballet-girls. 

A  servant  rummaging  in  one  of  the  garrets  of  Buckingham 
Palace  some  years  ago  found  a  number  of  dolls  which  were  dressed  by 
Queen  Victoria  when  she  was  a  little  girl.  The  discovery  of  this 
collection  of  old-fashioned  dollies  caused  quite  an  excitement  at 


46  CHILDHOOD  OF  THE  YOVNG  PRINCESS 

Osborne,  where  the  news  was  speedily  sent.  The  Queen  at 
once  telegraphed  to  have  the  dolls  all  seated  on  chairs  and  sofas 
and  photographed  and  the  pictures  sent  down  to  her  at  once.  She 
derived  a  great  deal  of  satisfaction  from  these  quaint  memorials  of 
her  childhood. 

Some  of  the  dolls  had  been  made  by  the  Queen  herself  when 
she  was  only  the  little  Princess  Victoria.  The  bodies  were  fashioned 
in  the  usual  way  and  the  regulation  china  head  attached.  Many  of 
them,  however,  were  the  quaint  jointed  wooden  dolls  that  few  chil- 
dren of  the  present  day  have  seen,  but  that  their  grandmothers 
remember. 

VARIETY    OF    DOLLS 

Many  of  the  dolls,  which  are  now  in  the  Kensington  Museum, 
in  London,  are  dressed  in  old  Flemish  costumes,  in  which  red  and 
yellow  predominate,  and  wear  ponderous  wooden  shoes.  There 
are  six  of  these,  four  being  dressed  as  girls  and  two  as  boys.  But 
most  of  the  English  dolls  are  dressed  to  represent  historical  per- 
sonages, and  some  are  named  for  friends  of  her  Majesty's  girlhood. 
Henry  VIII.  has  a  variety  of  counterfeit  presentments,  in  one  of 
which  he  is  dressed  in  full  armor  made  by  fine  stitches  of  silver 
thread,  that  give  the  appearance  of  steel.  Queen  Elizabeth  was  a 
favorite  also,  several  dolls  being  dressed  to  represent  her.  Some 
are  in  court  costume,  made  with  nicest  detail,  and  others  are  in 
riding  habits. 

A  group  composed  of  Shakespeare  and  Ann  Hathaway  and  a 
figure  representing  Dr.  Johnson  show  that  the  little  Princess  devel- 
oped at  an  early  age  the  literary  tastes  that  have  been  characteristic 
of  her  life.  Shakespeare  is  dressed  evidently  after  the  well-known 
picture  in  his  house  at  Stratford-on-Avon,  and  his  wife  wears  the 
costume  of  that  period.  To  prevent  possibility  of  "  mistaken 
identity,"  the  name  of  "Ann  Hathaway"  is  written  on  the  fine  linen 
underclothes  of  that  personage. 

The  French  dolls  represent  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  Empress 
Josephine  and  Marie  LOUISA.  The  Russian  dolls  show  the  Czar's 


CHILDHOOD  OF  7 HE  YOLNG  PRINCESS  47 

uniform  of  white  broadcloth,  gold-laced  and  corded,  and  various 
dazzling  Court  costumes.  The  headdress  is  of  rich  lace  with  strings 
of  pearls.  Dolls  in  Swiss  and  Italian  costumes  are  numerous,  and 
in  every  instance  are  faithful  reproductions. 

All  the  dolls  were  supplied  by  Victoria  with  outfits  for  every 
possible  occasion,  informal  and  state,  day  and  night.  Each  had 
real  hair,  golden  or  brown,  which  at  that  time  was  a  startling 
novelty. 

Her  Majesty  permitted  the  publication  of  a  book  by  a  young 
English  woman,  called  "  Queen  Victoria's  Dolls,"  in  which  colored 
plates  showed  exactly  how  these  infants  of  her  childish  years  were 
dressed.  It  was  stated  at  the  time  that,  although  the  name  Frances 
H.  Low  appeared  on  the  title-page,  the  Queen's  interest  in  her  old 
friends  was  so  strongly  revived  that  she  wrote  much  of  the  book 
herself. 

DAILY    PROGRAM    FOR    THE    PRINCESS 

The  little  Princess'  day  was  passed  as  follows  :  She  was  called 
from  her  bed  early  and  breakfasted  at  8  o'clock  in  the  morning- 
room  of  the  palace,  sitting  beside  her  mother  in  a  little  rose- 
wood chair,  with  a  table  to  match.  A  nurse  standing  beside  her 
saw  that  she  was  sufficiently  supplied  with  bread,  milk  and  fruit. 
After  breakfast  she  mounted  her  donkey  for  a  ride  around  Kensing- 
ton Gardens,  or  walked  for  an  hour  or  two,  and  then,  from  ten  to 
twelve,  "  little  Drina "'  received  instructions  from  her  mother. 
Then  came  a  good  romp  through  the  palace  with  her  nurse,  whom 
she  called  "  Boppy."  At  2  o'clock  the  little  Princess  dined  plainly 
at  her  mother's  luncheon  table.  Lessons  came  afterward  until 
4  o'clock,  when  she  either  went  with  her  mother  for  a  drive  or  spent 
the  late  afternoon  in  the  gardens  under  the  trees.  Her  mother 
dined  at  7  o'clock,  and  the  Princess  supped  at  the  same  table  from 
bread  and  milk.  Thus  simplicity  of  home  life  was  maintained. 
The  little  girl  was  taught  habits  which  insured  a  sound  mind  in  a 
suund  body.  The  tastes  of  the  little  Princess  were  very  simple. 
When  asked  once  at  Maidstone,  where  her  mother  had  stopped  to 


48  CHILDHOOD  OF  THE  YOUNG  PRINCESS 

change  horses,  what  refreshments  she  would  like,  she  replied  :  "  A 
small  piece  of  stale  bread."  As  one  lady  remarks  :  "  Her  bringing 
up  was  of  the  wisest  and  most  simple  fashion.  It  was  healthful 
living,  regularity  in  eating,  sleeping  and  exercise.  We  may  sum 
it  up  thus :  plenty  of  exercise,  simple  food,  plenty  of  air,  of  play, 
and  of  sleep."  An  occasional  visit  to  Windsor  to  see  her  "  Uncle 
King,"  and  a  few  weeks  at  the  seaside  with  her  Uncle  Leopold 
were  the  only  breaks  in  her  childish  life.  When  she  was  about 
eleven  years  old  she  paid  a  visit  to  the  King,  who  was  delighted 
with  her  "charming  manners."  In  respect  to  this  visit  her  grand- 
mother, at  Coburg,  wrote  :  "  The  little  monkey  must  have  pleased 
and  amused  him  ;  she  is  such  a  pretty,  clever  child." 

Even  when  an  old  woman  the  Queen  retained  the  fondness  for 
little  things  she  used  to  love  in  her  childhood.  She  always  cut  the 
pages  of  new  books  and  magazines  with  a  little  ivory  paper-knife 
that  she  used  when  she  was  a  tiny  Princess,  and  was  very  nervous 
and  angry  once  when  the  knife  was  mislaid,  and  she  was  obliged 
to  travel  from  Buckingham  Palace  to  Balmoral  without  it.  When 
it  was  found  a  messenger  followed  with  it  on  a  special  mission. 

In  her  doll's  house  days  she  was  very  fond  of  making  tea,  and 
her  children  and  grandchildren  had  no  greater  treat  than  to  pour  tea 
from  a  tiny  melon-shaped  teapot  of  German  silver,  with  a  very  short 
spout,  and  the  inscription,  "May  24,  1827,"  engraved  on  it.  This 
relic  of  the  Queen's  early  days  shows  much  signs  of  wear,  but 
throughout  her  life  it  was  in  use  on  very  great  family  occasions. 

WARMTH    OF    JUVENILE    FRIENDSHIP 

We  may  quote  from  another  who  saw  the  Princess  in  her  early 
days,  Leigh  Hunt,  the  celebrated  author  :  "  We  remember  well 
the  peculiar  kind  of  personal  pleasure  it  gave  us  to  see  the  future 
Queen,  the  first  time  we  ever  did  see  her,  coming  up  a  cross  path 
from  the  Bayswater  gate  with  a  little  girl  about  her  own  age  by 
her  side,  whose  hand  she  was  holding,  as  if  she  loved  her.  It 
brought  to  our  minds  the  warmth  of  our  own  juvenile  friendship, 


CHILDHOOD  OF  THE  YOUNG  PRINCESS  49 

and  made  us  fancy  that  she  loved  everything  else  that  we  had  loved 
in  like  measure — books,  trees,  verses,  Arabian  tales,  and  the  good 
mother  who  had  helped  to  make  her  affectiona'te.  A  magnificent 
footman  in  scarlet  came  behind  her,  with  the  splendidest  pair  of 
calves  in  white  stockings  which  we  ever  beheld.  He  looked  some- 
how like  a  gigantic  fairy  personating  truly  for  his  little  lady's 
sake  the  grandest  kind  of  footman  he  could  think  of.  And  his 
calves  he  seemed  to  have  made  out  of  a  couple  of  the  biggest 
chaise-lamps  in  the  possession  of  the  godmother  of  Cinderella." 

The  little  Victoria  was  very  fond  of  dancing,  an  enjoyment  of 
which  she  never  tired.  Love  for  this  pleasure  continued  with  her 
as  Princess  and  Queen.  As  a  princess,  indeed,  she  danced  but 
little,  but  when  after  marriage  she  began  her  happy  home  life,  small 
dances  at  Buckingham  Palace  and  at  Windsor  were  of  frequent 
occurrence. 

At  the  latter  place  the  crimson  drawing-room,  overlooking  the 
famous  east  terrace,  was  always  kept  in  the  most  perfect  order  for 
dancing.  The  floor  is  of  satin  and  tulip  woods.  The  Queen 
learned  from  old  books  every  kind  of  figure.  She  studied  them 
out  herself  and  often  taught  them  to  the  ladies  of  her  Court.  It 
was  noticeable  that  young  as  her  Majesty  was  at  the  time,  and  full 
of  youthful  spirits,  sfee  seldom  waltzed  with  anyone  but  the  Prince 
Consort  or  a  royal  visitor.  The  quadrilles,  then  the  fashionable 
dance,  she  would  bestow  upon  her  other  guests.  In  later  years 
she  had  a  great  appreciation  of  skirt-dancing  as  given  by  the 
younger  members  of  her  Court. 

The  little  Princess  was  not  permitted  to  attend  public  worship 
in  Kensington  Church,  for  fear  of  attracting  too  much  attention. 
Special  religious  services  were  conducted  for  her  in  the  palace  by 
her  mother  and  her  tutor.  When  visiting  away  from  London  she 
was  taken  to  a  village  church  and  required  to  pay  strict  attention, 
so  that  when  she  reached  home  she  could  give  her  mother  not  only 
the  text,  but  also  the  heads  of  the  discourse.  And  those  were  the 
days  of  long  and  formal  sermons. 


So  CHILDHOOD  OF  THE  YOlsNG  PRINCESS 

The  education  of  the  Princess  was  conducted  at  first  by  her 
mother,  with  the  help  of  Fraulein  Lehzen,  who  at  a  later  date  was 
formally  appointed  her  governess,  and  of  whom  she  afterwards 
said,  "  I  adored  her,  though  I  was  greatly  in  awe  of  her,"  Her 
regular  education  began  with  her  fifth  year,  when  the  Rev.  George 
Davys,  afterward  bishop  of  Peterborough,  became  her  tutor.  She 
"  was  reared  to  speak  in  French  and  German,  as  well  as  in  her  native 
tongue.  By  the  time  she  reached  her  nth  year  Italian,  Latin, 
Greek,  mathematics  and  music  had  been  added  to  her  studies. 
Sketching  was  one  of  her  favorite  occupations. 

King  George  IV.  presented  the  Princess  on  her  fourth  birth- 
day with  a  superb  token  of  remembrance,  being  a  miniature  portrait 
of  himself  richly  set  in  diamonds.  He  also  gave  a  State  dinner 
party  to  the  Duchess  and  her  daughter.  In  the  following  year, in 
response  to  a  message  from  his  Majesty,  Parliament  voted  an 
annual  grant  of  ,£6,000  to  the  Duchess  of  Kent  for  the  education 
of  the  young  Princess,  a  very  considerable  sum,  one  would  suppose, 
for  the  imparting  of  knowledge  to  a  child  of  five  years  of  age.  We 
may  well  doubt  if  the  results  corresponded  very  fully  with  the 
outlay. 

The  Duchess  of  Kent  was  very  solicitous  for  the  education  of 
her  daughter,  in  view  of  the  exalted  station  which  she  might  some 
day  be  called  to  assume.  The  little  Princess,  on  the  contrary, 
could  not  always  see  why  she  should  work  harder  over  her  books 
and  study  more  difficult  subjects  than  her  youthful  friends.  "  What 
good  is  this  ?  What  good  is  that  ?  "  were  questions  she  sometimes 
petulantly  asked,  but  as  a  rule  she  was  obedient  and  worked  dili- 
gently in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge.  Her  governess  made  a  rule 
that  she  should  finish  whatever  she  was  doing  before  she  began 
anything  else.  This  rule  applied  even  to  her  amusements.  Once, 
when  playing  at  haymaking,  she  tiung  down  her  little  rake,  and 
was  running  off  to  seek  some  other  amusements,  but  she  was  made 
to  come  back  and  finish  the  haycock  she  had  begun  before  she  was 
allowed  to  go  away. 


I 


IP 

'8 

X 
O 

M 

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CHILDHOOD  OF  THE  YOUNG  PRINCESS  53 

One  story  of  her  school  life  is  given  by  Bishop  Wilberforce  on 
the  authority  of  her  tutor.  It  describes  vividly  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  and  honorable  features  in  her  nature,  her  straightfor- 
ward, unswerving  honesty. 

She  had,  child-like,  been  trifling  over  her  lessons,  which  she 
was  saying  to  her  tutor  in  the  presence  of  her  governess,  when  the 
Duchess  of  Kent  entered  the  room,  and  asked  how  the  pupil  was 
behaving. 

"  She  was  a  little  troublesome  once,"  answered  the  governess. 

"No,  Lehzen,  twice  ;  don't  you  remember?"  said  the  honest 
little  Princess,  touching  her  arm  to  call  the  incident  to  her  attention. 

Another  example  of  her  willingness  to  acknowledge  a  fault  is 
the  following  :  Once  she  persisted  in  playing  with  a  dog  against 
which  she  had  been  cautioned.  The  animal  made  a  snap  at  her 
hand,  and  when  the  cautioner  expressed  his  fears  that  she  had  been 
bitten,  she  replied  :  "  Oh,  thank  you  !  thank  you  !  You're  right, 
and  I  am  wrong ;  but  he  didn't  bite  me — he  only  warned  me.  I 
shall  be  careful  in  future." 

HER    ATTAINMENTS    IN    EARLY    YEARS 

She  proved  an  apt  scholar,  and  her  attainments  in  early  years 
reflected  credit  alike  on  her  governesses  and  instructors,  and  on  her 
own  diligence  and  perseverance.  At  the  age  of  eleven  she  could 
speak  French  and  German  with  fluency,  had  some  knowledge  of 
Italian,  and  in  Latin  was  a  fair  scholar,  being  able  to  read  Virgil 
and  Horace.  Her  Bible  knowledge  is  mentioned  as  remarkable  at 
that  age ;  while  she  was  also  receiving  lessons  on  the  British 
Constitution,  laws,  and  politics.  She  displayed  considerable 
talent  for  music  and  drawing.  At  the  age  of  six  she  sang  "  God 
Save  the  King"  before  her  royal  relatives,  and  at  nine  could  play 
the  piano  very  nicely. 

The  following  incident  is  given  as  an  illustration  of  the  habits 
of  strict  economy  and  prudence  enforced.  The  Princess  had  her 
allowance,  and  was  never  expected  to  exceed  it.  Once,  at  a  bazaar 


54  CHILDHOOD  OF  THE  YOUNG  PRINCESS 

at  Tunbridge  Wells,  she  had  bought  presents  for  her  relations,  and 
had  spent  all  her  money,  when  she  remembered  one  more  cousin, 
and  seeing  a  box  at  half-a-crown,  which  would  just  suit  him, 
requested  the  people  to  place  it  with  the  other  purchases.  The 
governess,  however,  said,  "  No ;  you  see  the  Princess  has  not  got 
the  money,  and  so  of  course  cannot  have  the  box."  They  then 
offered  to  lay  the  box  aside  for  her,  and  the  reply  was,  "  Oh,  well, 
if  you  will  be  so  good."  Next  quarter-day  Princess  Victoria 
appeared  riding  on  her  donkey,  before  seven  in  the  morning,  paid 
for  the  box  and  carried  it  away. 

Concerning  this  story  Mrs.  Oliphant  writes  :  "  This  reads  like 
a  story  out  of  '  Sanford  and  Merton,'  but  the  Princess  Victoria 
came  by  her  father's  side  of  a  lavish  and  largely  spending  race,  and 
no  doubt,  on  this  account,  the  discipline  under  which  she  was 
trained  became  more  severe." 

As  illustrating  the  simple  life  of  these  early  days,  it  is  stated 
that  the  Princess  Victoria,  with  her  half-sister  Feodora,  might  not 
unfrequently  be  seen  going  to  a  Kensington  tradesman,  buying  a 
hat  or  some  other  article  desired,  and  returning  home  carrying  it 
in  her  hand. 

HER  MOTHER'S  GOOD  SENSE 

In  reading  the  records  of  the  childhood  days  of  the  future 
Queen  one  is  struck  by  its  great  simplicity  and  the  marked  good 
sense  shown  by  the  Duchess,  her  mother.  Here,  for  example,  is  a 
glimpse  afforded  by  Mr.  Charles  Knight  of  the  Duchess  and  her 
daughter  at  Kensington : 

"In  the  early  morning,  when  the  sun  was  scarcely  high  enough 
to  have  dried  up  the  dews  of  Kensington's  green  alleys,  as  I  passed 
along  the  broad  central  walk,  I  saw  a  group  on  the  lawn  before  the 
palace,  which,  to  my  mind,  was  a  vision  of  exquisite  loveliness. 

41  The  Duchess  of  Kent,  and  her  daughter,  whose  years  then 
numbered  nine,  are  breakfasting  in  the  open  air — a  single  page 
attending  upon  them  at  a  respectful  distance — the  matron  looking  on 
with  eyes  of  love,  whilst  the  'fair  soft  English  face'  is  bright  with 


CHILDHOOD  OF  THE  YOUNG  PRINCESS  55 

smiles.  The  world  of  fashion  is  not  yet  astir.  Clerks  and  mechanics, 
passing  onward  to  their  occupation,  are  few ;  and  they  exhibit 
nothing  of  that  vulgar  curiosity  which  I  think  is  more  commonly 
found  in  the  class  of  the  merely  rich  than  in  the  ranks  below  them 
in  the  world's  estimation. 

"  What  a  beautiful  characteristic  it  seemed  to  me  of  the  training 
of  this  royal  girl,  that  she  should  not  have  been  taught  to  shrink 
from  the  public  eye — that  she  should  not  have  been  burdened  with 
a  premature  conception  of  her  probable  high  destiny — that  she 
should  enjoy  the  freedom  and  simplicity  of  a  child's  nature — that 
she  should  not  be  restrained  when  she  starts  up  from  the  breakfast- 
table  and  runs  to  gather  a  flower  in  the  adjoining  parterre — that 
her  merry  laugh  should  be  as  fearless  as  the  notes  of  the  thrush  in 
the  groves  around  her.  I  passed  on  and  blessed  her ;  and  I  thank 
God  that  I  have  lived  to  see  the  golden  fruit  of  such  training." 

In  her  days  as  mother  the  Queen  preserved  the  same  sim- 
plicity of  style  in  dressing  her  own  children.  In  illustration  of  this 
the  following  incident  is  told : 

"  A  fashionable  lady  went  to  Windsor  Park  at  the  hour  when 
she  understood  royalty  might  be  met.  She  was  very  anxious  to 
see  some  of  the  royal  family.  She  passed  in  one  of  the  walks  a 
lady  and  gentleman  with  two  or  three  plainly-dressed  children,  but 
of  these  she  took  no  notice.  Farther  on  she  encountered  an  old 
Scotch  gardener,  of  whom  she  eagerly  inquired  if  she  had  any 
chance  of  seeing  the  Queen  in  the  park.  His  answer  was,  '  Weel, 
ye  maun  turn  back  and  rin  a  good  bit,  for  ye've  passed  her  Majesty, 
the  Prince,  and  the  royal  bairns.'  Looking  back  she  saw  disap- 
pearing in  the  distance  the  group  she  had  passed  as  '  too  plain  to 
be  anybody,'  and,  as  she  bitterly  said,  *  I  passed  without  as  much 
as  a  look  at  them,  or  a  loyal  greeting.' " 

When  Victoria  was  nine  years  old,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  according 
to  a  record  in  his  diary,  dined  with  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  and  by 
Prince  Leopold  was  presented  "  to  little  Princess  Victoria  and  heir 
apparent  to  the  house,  as  things  now  stand."  "  This  little  lady,"  he 


$o  CHILDHOOD  OF  THE  YOUNG  PRINCESS 

adds,  "is  educated  with  much  care  and  watched  so  closely  that  no 
busy  maid  has  a  moment  to  whisper :  '  You  are  heir  of  England.' 
I  suspect  if  we  could  dissect  the  little  heart  we  should  find  that 
some  pigeon  or  other  bird  of  the  air  had  carried  the  matter.  She 
is  fair,  like  the  royal  family."  He  was  mistaken  in  his  estimate 
of  her  premature  knowledge  of  her  destiny.  Three  years,  more 
passed  before  she  became  aware  of  her  heirship  to  the  crown. 

In  speaking  of  the  studies  of  the  little  royal  maiden,  some- 
thing should  have  been  said  of  her  singing,  in  which  she  acquitted 
herself  admirably,  singing  with  taste  and  sweetness.  Her  teacher 
was  the  famous  Lablache.  Her  accomplishments  as  a  dancer  have 
been  already  mentioned,  and  she  was  an  excellent  archer.  But  of 
out-door  exercises  she  was  fondest  of  riding.  Her  uncle,  the  Duke 
of  York,  had  presented  her  a  donkey,  of  which  she  was  very  fond. 
Throughout  life  she  was  devoted  to  the  animals  that  bore  her,  from 
her  childhood's  donkey  to  the  pony  which  she  rode  on  her  latest 
Highland  excursions. 

QUICKNESS    AND    READY    WIT 

As  regards  the  mental  quickness  and  ready  wit  of  the  Princess, 
an  interesting  example  has  been  preserved.  On  one  occasion  her 
teacher  read  to  her  the  story  of  Cornelia,  the  mother  of  the 
Gracchi — famous  Roman  patriots — the  account  telling  how  the 
noble  matron  presented  her  sons  to  her  proud  lady  visitors,  who 
had  asked  to  see  her  jewels,  with  the  memorable  words,  "  These 
are  my  jewels." 

"  She  should  have  said  '  my  Cornelians,' "  replied  the  Princess, 
with  witty  readiness. 

The  first  grief  which  the  Princess  was  old  enough  to  feel  with 
any  depth  of  sorrow  came  from  the  death  of  the  Duke  of  York. 
She  was  at  this  time  in  her  eighth  year,  and,  as  she  had  ever  expe- 
rienced great  kindness  and  affection  at  the  hands  of  her  uncle,  his 
loss  affected  her  keenly.  The  Duke  of  York  and  the  Duchess  of 
Clarence  were  the  two  members  of  the  royal  family  whom  she  most 


CHILDHOOD  OF  THE  YOUNG  PRINCESS  57 

loved,  and  his  death  was  her  earliest  great  loss.  At  the  time  she 
was  unconscious  that  his  demise  brought  her  one  step  nearer  the 
throne,  though  this  knowledge  would  scarcely  have  lessened  her 
sorrow. 

Her  earliest  experience  of  the  gayeties  of  Court  life  came  in 
her  tenth  year,  when  at  a  drawing-room  held  during  the  season 
she  had  an  opportunity  of  observing  how  a  queen  but  little  older 
than  herself  was  received  with  royal  honors  at  the  Court  of  George 
IV.  This  young  Sovereign  was  Donna  Maria  da  Gloria,  Queen 
of  Portugal.  The  two  children  had  previously  exchanged  some 
formal  State  visits,  but  official  etiquette  did  not  admit  of  a  close 
intimacy. 

HER    FIRST    DANCE 

The  first  occasion  on  which  the  Princess  Victoria  danced  in 
public  was  at  a  juvenile  ball  given  by  the  King  to  Donna  Maria. 
The  young  Queen  presented  an  appearance  of  great  splendor,  for 
her  dress  blazed  with  all  the  jewels  of  the  Portuguese  crown  ;  she 
was  surrounded  by  her  Court,  and  was  led  to  the  ball-room  by  the 
hand  of  the  King  himself.  Little  Victoria,  who  was  simply  dressed 
in  white,  was  dazzled  by  so  much  magnificence,  but,  as  a  chronicler 
of  the  scene  remarks,  "  the  elegant  simplicity  of  the  attire  and 
manners  of  the  British  heiress  formed  a  strong  contrast  to  the 
glare  and  glitter  around  the  precocious  Queen.  These  royal  young 
ladies  danced  in  the  same  quadrille,  and  though  the  performance  of 
Donna  Maria  was  greatly  admired,  all  persons  of  refined  taste  gave 
the  preference  to  the  modest  graces  of  the  English-bred  Princess." 

The  portraits  of  the  Princess  Victoria,  executed  during  her 
infancy  and  childhood,  are  somewhat  numerous.  Sir  William 
Beechey  painted  a  picture  in  oil,  representing  the  Duchess  seated 
on  a  sofa  upon  which  her  young  daughter  stood  beside  her,  and 
this  painting  is  in  the  possession  of  the  King  of  the  Belgians. 
Turnerelli,  the  sculptor,  executed  an  excellent  bust  of  the  Princess 
when  she  was  in  her  third  year,  and  in  1827,  Mr.  Behnes  produced 
a  marble  bust,  which  is  now  in  one  of  the  corridors  of  Windsor 

4 


58  CHILDHOOD  OF  THE  YOUNG  PRINCESS 

Castle.  It  was  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  beautiful  speci- 
mens of  sculpture  ever  exhibited  in  the  British  schools  of  art,  the 
likeness  being  perfect,  the  features  delicately  portrayed,  and  the 
expression  admirable.  Mr.  Fowler,  an  artist  of  Ramsgate,  executed 
two  portraits  of  the  Princess,  one  in  her  ninth  year.  Mr.  Westall, 
R.  A.,  painted  a  trustworthy  full-length  portrait  of  the  Princess  as 
she  appeared  when  in  her  twelfth  year. 


CHAPTER   III 
From   Princess  to  Queen 

AN  era  of  supreme  importance  came  in  the  life  of  the  youthful 
Princess  when  she  first  learned  of  the  high  dignity  that 
seemed  to  await  her.  Fearing  that  the  sweet  modesty  of 
childhood  might  be  spoiled  by  a  premature  perception  of  the  daz 
zling  prospects  before  her,  the  Duchess  deemed  it  wise,  in  her 
earlier  years,  to  withhold  from  her  daughter  the  knowledge  that 
she  would  probably  become  Queen  of  England.  When,  how 
ever,  she  was  about  the  age  of  twelve,  circumstances  occurred 
which  indicated  she  should  be  informed  of  the  dignity  to  which  she 
would  possibly  be  called.  Various  stories  have  been  told  as  to  how 
this  was  done  ;  but  the  following,  having  received  the  Queen's 
approval,  may  be  taken  as  correct.  It  is  given  in  a  letter 
addressed  to  the  Queen  by  her  former  governess,  Baroness 
Lehzen : 

"  I  said  to  the  Duchess  of  Kent  that  your  Majesty  ought  to 
know  your  place  in  the  succession.  Her  Royal  Highness  agreed 
with  me,  and  I  put  the  genealogical  table  into  the  historical  book. 
When  Mr.  Davys  (the  Queen's  instructor,  afterwards  the  Bishop 
of  Peterborough)  was  gone,  the  Princess  Victoria  opened,  as  usual, 
the  book  again,  and  seeing  the  additional  paper,  said,  '  I  never 
saw  that  before.'  '  It  was  not  thought  necessary  you  should,  Prin 
cess,'  I  answered.  '  I  see  I  am  nearer  the  throne  than  I  thought/ 
'  So  it  is,  madam,'  I  said.  After  some  moments  the  Princess 
resumed  :  '  Now,  many  a  child  would  boast ;  but  they  don't  know 
the  difficulty.  There  is  much  splendor,  but  there  is  more  respon 
sibility.'  The  Princess,  having  lifted  up  the  forefinger  of  her  right 
hand  while  she  spoke,  gave  me  that  little  hand,  saying,  '  I  will  b' 

5< 


6o 


FROM  PRINCESS  TO  QUEEN 


good  1  I  understand  now  why  you  urged  me  so  much  to  learn 
Latin.  You  told  me  Latin  is  the  foundation  of  English  grammar, 
and  of  all  the  elegant  expressions,  and  I  learned  it  as  you  wished  ; 
but  I  understand  all  better  now.'  And  the  Princess  gave  me  her 
hand,  repeating,  '/  will  be  good  ! 

On  the  margin  of  this  letter  the  Queen  herself  wrote :  "  I 
cried  much  on  learning  it." 

The  Duchess,  fearing  that  there  was  some  danger  that  the 
girlish  head  of  her  daughter  might  be  turned  by  the  great  future 
that  appeared  to  await  her,  counselled  the  young  princess  in  these 
words : 

"  It  is  not  you,  but  your  future  office  and  rank,  which  are 
regarded  in  the  country.  You  must  so  act  as  never  to  bring  that 


FROM  ETCHINGS  MADE  BY  THE  QUEEN 

office  and  that  rank  into  disgrace  or  disrespect."  And  at  another 
time  the  purpose  of  her  careful  training  was  thus  explained  :  "  I  am 
anxious  to  bring  you  up  as  a  good  woman,  and  then  you  will  be  a 
good  Queen  also."  How  well  the  mother  succeeded  in  this  endeavor 
the  history  of  Victoria's  reign  is  sufficient  evidence. 

When  William  IV.  ascended  the  throne  in  1830,  there  was  but 
his  one  life  between  the  Princess  Victoria  and  the  throne,  which 
would  be  surely  hers  if  she  should  live  till  his  death,  and  he  should 
have  no  other  child.  Parliament  accordingly  passed  a  bill  provid- 
ing for  the  contingency  of  the  throne  becoming  vacant  before  she 
should  attain  her  majority,  which  would  come  at  the  age  of  eighteen 


FROM  PRINCESS  TO  QUEEN  61 

The  Duchess  of  Kent  was  made  her  guardian,  and  Regent  of  the 
Kingdom  in  such  an  event,  to  be  assisted  by  a  Council  of  Regency. 
Provision  was  soon  afterwards  made  for  her  education  and  main- 
tenance, and  the  proper  support  of  the  dignity  of  her  position  as 
heiress  presumptive — ,£10,000  a  year  being  voted,  in  addition  to 
the  previous  annual  grant  of  ,£6,000. 

The  Princess  Victoria's  first  appearance  at  Court  during  King 
William's  reign  was  made  at  the  celebration  of  Queen  Adelaide's  birth, 
day,  on  the  24th  of  February,  1831.  The  drawing-room  held  by 
her  Majesty  was  stated  to  have  been  the  most  magnificent  witnessed 
since  that  which  signalized  the  presentation  of  the  Princess  Charlotte 
of  Wales  on  the  occasion  of  her  marriage.  The  Princess  Victoria 
stood  on  Queen  Adelaide's  left  hand.  Her  dress  was  made  entirely 
of  articles  made  in  the  United  Kingdom.  She  wore  a  frock  of 
English  blonde  over  white  satin  and  a  pearl  necklace,  while  a  rich 
diamond  agraffe  fastened  the  Madonna  braids  of  her  fair  hair  at  the 
back  of  her  head.  She  was  the  object  of  interest  and  admiration  on 
the  part  of  all  assembled.  The  scene  was  one  of  the  most  splendid 
ever  remembered,  and  the  future  Queen  of  England  contemplated  all 
that  passed  with  much  dignity,  but  with  evident  enjoyment.  "  We 
can,"  writes  Miss  Tytler,  "call  up  before  us  the  figure  in  its  girlish 
pure  white  dress,  the  soft,  open  face,  the  fair  hair,  the  candid  blue 
eyes,  the  frank  lips,  slightly  apart,  showing  the  white,  pearly  teeth." 

When  King  William  prorogued  his  first  Parliament  an  interest- 
ing circumstance  occurred,  which  caused  much  enthusiasm  amongst 
those  who  witnessed  it.  Queen  Adelaide  and  the  princesses  wit- 
nessed the  spectacle  of  the  royal  State  procession.  The  people 
cheered  the  Queen  lustily,  but,  forgetting  herself,  that  gracious 
lady  took  the  young  Princess  Victoria  by  the  hand,  led  her  to  the 
front  of  the  balcony,  and  introduced  her  to  the  happy  and  loyal 
multitude.  In  January,  1831,  the  Princess  made  her  first  appear- 
ance at  the  theatre,  visiting  Covent  Garden,  and  thoroughly  enter- 
ing into  the  pleasures  of  the  children's  entertainment  provided. 


62  FROM  PRINCESS  TO  QUEEN 

The  Duchess  of  Kent  was  anxious  that  her  daughter  should 
know  her  own  country ;  therefore  they  traveled  much  in  England, 
being  everywhere  received  with  warm  enthusiasm.  They  visited 
the  various  watering  places  and  the  seats  of  the  nobility,  albO 
manufacturing  centers.  At  Helper,  in  1832,  the  Princess  was  shown 
over  a  cotton  mill,  and  the  mechanism  minutely  explained  to  her 
by  Mr.  Strutt,  whose  son,  in  1856,  was  made  a  peer  by  the  Queen. 

In  the  summer  of  1833,  the  Duchess  and  her  daughter  spent 
three  pleasant  months  at  Norris  Castle,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight. 
They  lived  as  privately  as  possible,  and,  unembarrassed  by  the 
trammels  of  society,  they  highly  enjoyed  the  charming  scenery  of 
the  island,  taking  long  walks  and  excursions  alone.  One  day  they 
were  seen  by  a  tourist  sitting  near  the  tomb  of  the  "  Dairyman's 
Daughter,"  in  Arreton  Churchyard.  The  Princess  was  reading 
aloud,  in  a  full,  melodious  voice,  the  touching  tale  of  the  Christian 
maiden.  He  turned  away,  but  was  soon  afterwards  told  by  the 
sexton  that  the  pilgrims  to  that  humble  shrine  were  the  coming 
Queen  of  England  and  her  Duchess  mother. 

They  made  many  excursions  from  the  castle  in  the  yacht 
Emerald,  visiting  neighboring  coast  towns.  While  returning 
from  one  of  these  excursions  the  Princess  made  a  narrow  escape 
from  death.  The  yacht  ran  afoul  of  the  hulk  of  the  Active, 
and  her  mainmast  being  sprung  her  sail  and  a  piece  of  heavy  wood 
were  detached.  The  pilot,  Mr.  Saunders,  quick  as  thought  sprang 
to  where  the  Princess  was  standing,  lifted  her  in  his  arms  to  a  more 
safe  position  further  aft,  and  the  next  moment,  crash !  came  the 
topmast  down  where  the  Princess  had  originally  stationed  herself. 
But  for  the  prompt  action  of  Mr.  Saunders  she  must  have  been 
crushed  to  death. 

Her    Royal    Highness   bore    herself  with  calmness  while  the 
event  was  passing,  but  after  fully  perceiving  the  imminent  danger  i 
from  which  she  had  escaped  she  burst  into  tears,  and  thanked  her  \ 
preserver  with  artless  grace  for  his  great  presence  of  mind.     The 
pilot  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  master,  and  had  the  honor,  at  a 


FROM  PRINCESS  TO  QUEEN  63 

later  time,  of  conveying  Prince  Albert  in  his  vessel  to  England. 
On  the  death  of  Mr.  Saunders  the  Queen  made  provision  for  his 
wife  and  family. 

The  Princess  had  soon  her  first  experience  of  a  duty  which 
she  performed  very  often  afterwards  : — she  had  to  open  something. 
On  this  occasion  it  was  the  Victoria  Park,  at  Bath,  which  had 
the  honor  of  her  presence  and  official  performance. 

CURIOSITY   ABOUT   THE    PRINCESS 

Public  curiosity  about  the  Princess  was  now  roused,  and  every- 
one, from  the  King  downwards,  thought  that  the  widowed  mother 
ought  not  to  keep  her  child  so  secluded.  Parliament  had  voted 
a  large  sum  for  her  education,  and  people  wanted  more  fre- 
quently to  see  the  State  pupil,  so  to  speak.  Ramsgate,  for  instance, 
—to  which  the  Duchess  and  her  daughter  wished  to  go  quietly,  as 
other  people  do  to  the  seaside — made  preparations  to  receive  them 
like  victorious  heroes.  There  were  triumphal  arches  and  streets 
lined  with  people,  but  the  Duchess  and  her  little  daughter,  avoid- 
ing both,  took  a  byway  to  a  house  privately  prepared  for  their 
reception.  Those  who  had  an  eye  to  the  influence  of  royalty  on 
shops  and  lodging-houses  were  disappointed.  The  illustrious  visit- 
ors attended  neither  fashionable  concerts  nor  public  meetings,  and 
they  took  their  seats  at  church  unostentatiously,  and  behaved  just 
like  other  people. 

The  next  year  or  two,  were  spent  by  the  Princess  Victoria  in 
quiet  study.  No  pains  were  spared  to  fit  her  for  the  high  position 
to  which  it  now  seemed  nearly  certain  she  would  be  called.  Like 
most  young  people,  however,  she  was  sometimes  a  little  troublesome. 
She  did  not  always  feel  in  the  mood  for  pianoforte  practice,  and 
she  was  one  day  told  that  there  was  no  royal  road  to  perfection, 
and  that  only  by  much  practice  could  she  become  "  mistress  of  the 
piano."  The  Princess  at  once  closed  the  piano,  locked  it,  and  put 
the  key  in  her  pocket.  "  Now.  you  see,  there  is  a  royaJ  way  o* 


64  FROM  PRINCESS  TO  QUEEN 

becoming  mistress  of  the  piano  !"  she  exclaimed.     But,  having  had 
her  little  joke,  she  was  soon  persuaded  to  resume  her  practice. 

On  another  occasion  also  the  young  lady  looked  at  things  from 
a  point  of  view  different  from  those  who  then  exercised  authority 
over  her.  The  French  master  having  given  her  a  narrative  to  trans- 
late into  French,  when  she  had  finished  her  mother  desired  her  to 
thank  M.  Grandineau  for  his  lesson.  "  No,  mamma,"  was  the 
reply.  "  M.  Grandineau  should  thank  me,  for  I  have  taken  the 
trouble  to  translate  the  story  for  him." 

PERPLEXITIES    OF    EDUCATION 

In  illustrating  the  difficulties  which  the  tender  mother  had  to 
encounter  about  this  time,  Mrs.  Oliphant  tells  how  the  Duchess  of 
Kent  was  blamed,  on  the  one  hand,  for  keeping  the  young  Princess 
out  of  the  buzz  of  the  Court,  and  on  the  other  for  taking  her  on 
little  expeditions,  in  order  that  she  should  become  acquainted  with 
her  country.  "  Her  mother  kept  her  child  from  all  vulgar  contact 
with  the  crowd — it  was  '  a  rigorous  seclusion ' ;  she  took  her  to  see 
a  beautiful  cathedral  or  an  historical  house — it  was  '  an  attempt  at 
a  royal  progress."1  Throughout  all  these  difficulties  and  perplexi- 
ties, the  good  mother  sought  to  steer  her  way  conscientiously. 

The  King  and  Queen  appear  to  have  been  warmly  attached  to 
Victoria ;  Queen  Adelaide,  the  bereaved  mother,  writing  thus  to 
the  Duchess  of  Kent:  "  My  children  are  dead,  but  your  child  lives, 
and  she  is  mine  too."  King  William  is  said  by  Greville,  and  some 
other  contemporary  writers,  to  have  been  a  little  jealous  of  the 
popularity  of  the  youthful  Princess.  He  himself  loved  her  and 
wished  to  see  her  often,  but  rather  objected  to  the  "  royal  prog- 
resses," as  he  called  the  tours  made  by  the  Duchess  and  her 
daughter.  The  Duchess  of  Kent,  however,  who  possessed  con- 
siderable firmness  and  resolution,  quietly  adhered  to  her  purpose  of 
training  her  daughter  in  the  manner  she  felt  to  be  necessary  for  her 
future  position. 


FROM  PRINCESS  TO  QUEEN  65 

The  Duchess  was  doubtless  well  advised  in  preventing  the 
youthful  Princess  from  attaining  too  great  familiarity  with  the 
social  tone  of  the  Court  of  William  IV.  That  royal  personage  was 
by  no  means  an  estimable  character,  and  little  to  be  commended  as 
were  the  Georges  they,  at  least,  had  a  much  better  idea  of  kingly 
decency  and  decorum  than  their  successor,  William.  The  King, 
however,  by  no  means  approved  of  the  close  seclusion  of  his  niece, 
and,  as  we  are  told,  much  as  he  detested  his  ministers,  he  detested 
more  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  who  had  not  been  sparing  in  her 
criticisms  on  the  reception  she  had  met  from  the  royal  family  in 
England. 

The  Duchess  had  applied  for  a  suite  of  apartments  for  her 
own  use  in  Kensington  Palace,  and  had  been  refused  by  the  King. 
She  appropriated  the  rooms,  notwithstanding  the  denial.  The 
King  informed  her  publicly  that  he  neither  understood  nor  would 
endure  conduct  so  disrespectful  to  him. 

This,  though  said  loudly  and  publicly,  was  only  the  mutter- 
ing of  a  storm  which  broke  next  day.  It  was  the  royal  birthday, 
and  the  King  had  invited  a  hundred  people  to  dinner. 

When  replying  to  the  speech  in  which  his  health  had  been  pn> 
posed,  the  King  burst  forth  in  a  bitter  tirade  against  the  Duchess. 

"  I  trust  in  God,"  he  exclaimed,  "  that  I  may  have  the  satisfac- 
tion of  leaving  the  royal  authority  on  my  death  to  the  personal 
exercise  of  that  young  lady  (pointing  to  the  Princess),  the  heiress 
presumptive  to  the  crown,  and  not  in  the  hands  of  a  person  now 
near  me,  who  is  surrounded  by  evil  advisers,  and  who  is  herself 
incompetent  to  act  with  propriety  in  the  station  in  which  she  would 
be  placed. 

"  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  I  have  been  insulted, 
grossly  and  continually  insulted,  by  that  person,  but  I  am  deter- 
mined to  endure  no  longer  a  course  of  behavior  so  disrespectful 
to  me." 

The  King  particularly  complained  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
Princess  had  been  prevented  from  attending  at  Court  by  her  mother. 


66  FROM  PRINCESS  TO  QUEEN 

"  For  the  future,"  he  said,  "  I  shall  insist  and  command  that  the 
Princess  do  upon  all  occasions  appear  at  my  Court,  as  it  is  her  duty 
to  do." 

One  day  during  her  first  visit  to  the  Royal  Lodge  (Windsor 
Park),  King  William  entered  the  drawing  room,  holding  his  niece 
by  the  hand.  The  band  was  playing  in  an  adjoining  conservatory. 

"Now,  Victoria,"  said  his  Majesty,  "the  band  is  in  the  next 
room,  and  shall  play  any  tune  you  please.  What  shall  it  be  ? " 
"  Oh,  uncle  King,"  quickly  replied  the  Princess,  "  I  should  like 
'God  Save  the  King.'1  Another  time  his  Majesty  asked  her  what 
she  had  enjoyed  most  during  her  stay  in  Windsor.  "The  drive  I 
took  with  you,  uncle  King,"  was  the  answer,  the  King  having  him- 
self driven  her  in  his  pony  carriage. 

The  loving  anxiety  felt  for  the  training  of  her  daughter  by  the 
Duchess  of  Kent,  of  whose  tender  solicitude  and  watchful  care  we 
have  spoken,  was  shared  by  another,  far  away  in  Germany,  who 
carefully  watched  the  rearing  of  the  Princess.  This  was  her  grand- 
mother, the  Dowager  Duchess  of  Coburg,  who  wrote,  about  the 
time  of  the  death  of  George  IV. : 

"  God  bless  Old  England,  where  my  beloved  children  live,  and 
where  the  sweet  Blossom  of  May  may  one  day  reign  !  May  God, 
yet,  for  many  years,  keep  the  weight  of  a  crown  from  her  young 
head,  and  let  the  intelligent,  clever  child  grow  up  to  girlhood  be- 
fore this  dangerous  grandeur  devolves  upon  her."  And  again,  on 
her  grandchild's  birthday,  she  wrote  :  "  My  blessings  and  good 
wishes  for  the  day  which  gave  you  the  sweet  Blossom  of  May. 
May  God  preserve  and  protect  the  valuable  life  of  that  lovely 
flower  from  all  the  dangers  that  will  beset  her  mind  and  heart." 

It  may  not  be  amiss,  at  this  point  in  our  narrative,  to  relate 
some  anecdotes  showing  the  native  kindness  of  heart  of  the  Prin- 
cess in  her  girlhood  days.  On  one  occasion,  when  at  Tunbridge 
Wells,  she  heard  of  a  poor  actress  whose  husband  had  died,  leaving 
her  in  the  deepest  poverty  and  distress.  Touched  by  the  poor 
woman's  trouble,  the  Princess  resolved  to  give  her  ten  pounds  from 


FROM  PRINCESS  TO  QUEEN  67 

her  own  pocket  money,  and  managed  to  coax  her  mother  to  give 
her  another  ten  pounds  for  the  purpose.  With  the  twenty  pounds 
she  called  on  the  widow,  expressed  her  sympathy  with  her,  and  pre- 
sented the  money.  Afterwards,  when  she  came  to  the  throne,  she 
endowed  the  poor  woman  with  an  annuity  of  forty  pounds  per 
annum. 

Another  beautiful  story  is  told  of  a  poor  widow  who,  placed  in 
charge  of  a  lighthouse  on  the  south  coast  of  the  Mersey,  had  re- 
solved to  devote  the  receipts  of  one  day  in  the  year — in  the  visit- 
ing season,  when  she  usually  received  a  number  of  small  gifts — to 
the  missionary  cause.  On  the  day  fixed  upon,  a  lady  in  widow's 
garb  and  a  girl  came  to  see  the  lighthouse.  Sympathy  in  misfor- 
tune led  to  conversation,  and  before  the  visitors  left  a  sovereign 
was  handed  to  the  poor  widow.  She  had  never  contemplated  so 
large  a  gift,  and  a  conflict  arose  as  to  putting  the  whole  of  it  in  the 
missionary  box.  By-ancl-by  she  compromised,  it  is  said,  and  put  in 
half-a-crown.  But  she  could  not  sleep  that  night ;  conscience  was 
uneasy;  she  had  not  fulfilled  her  promise;  so  she  rose  from  her 
bed,  took  out  the  half-a-crown,  and  put  in  the  sovereign.  A  few 
days  afterwards,  to  her  great  astonishment,  she  received  a  letter 
from  the  widow  lady,  enclosing  twenty  pounds  from  herself  and 
five  pounds  from  her  daughter,  these  being  persons  of  no  less  con- 
sequence than  the  Duchess  of  Kent  and  Princess  Victoria. 

There  is  another  story,  possibly  apocryphal,  but  not  out  of 
tone  with  the  character  of  the  young  Princess.  She  was  in  a  jewel- 
ler's shop,  making  some  purchase,  when  she  observed  a  young  lady 
selecting  a  gold  chain.  One  chain  seemed  to  please  her  very 
much,  but,  with  a  sigh,  she  said  she  could  not  afford  it,  and  bought 
a  cheaper  one.  After  the  young  lady  had  left  the  shop,  the  Prin- 
cess made  some  inquiries,  and  then,  paying  for  the  chain  which  had 
pleased  the  young  lady,  ordered  both  chains  to  be  sent  home  to 
her.  In  the  packet  Princess  Victoria  placed  her  own  card,  writing 
thereon  a  few  words  in  which  she.  commended  her  prudence  and 


68  FROM  PRINCESS  TO  QUEEN 

self-denial,  and  requested  her  to  accept  the  chain  originally  selected 
as  a  present  from  Victoria. 

There  is  told  still  another  story,  of  different  character.  While 
on  a  visit  to  Wentworth  House,  the  seat  of  Earl  Fitzwilliam,  the 
Princess  was  walking  in  the  garden  after  a  wet  night.  An  old 
gardener  saw  her  when  on  the  point  of  descending  a  sloping  piece 
of  lawn,  and,  not  knowing  her,  called  out  : — 

''Be  careful,  Miss;  it's  slape"    (Yorkshire  for  "slippery.") 
"  Slape  ! "  was  the  reply.     "  What's  slape  ?  " 
"  Very  slippery,  Miss,"  responded  the  gardener. 
"  Oh  !  that's  all.    Thank  you,"  she  said,  and  continued  down  the 
slope.     In  a  moment  her  feet  slipped  and  down  she  tumbled.     As 
the  gardener  ran  to  pick  her  up,  he  said : 
"  That's  slape,  Miss." 

"Yes,"  she  replied.  "  I  shall  never  forget  the  word  slape'1 
There  was  an  old  soldier-servant  of  her  father,  called  Hillman, 
who  had  a  very  delicate  daughter.  The  Princess  often  went  to  see 
her,  and  when  she  became  Queen  she  did  not  forget  her  in  the 
excitement  of  a  new  life.  She  sent  a  lady  of  her  houshold  to  the 
sick  girl  with  the  gift  of  a  Book  of  Psalms,  marked  by  her  Majesty 
at  the  days  on  which  she  read  them  herself,  and  with  the  book  a 
marker  bearing  an  embroidered  dove — the  emblem  of  peace — on  it, 
the  work  of  her  own  royal  hands.  The  girl  showed  those  tokens  of 
remembrance  to  her  clergyman  with  tears. 

The  Princess  was  trained  to  be  courteous  and  affable  to  high 
and  low  alike.  One  day,  when  walking  near  Malvern,  where  she 
and  her  mother  were  staying,  she  was  running  on  with  her  little 
dog  in  advance  of  her  mother  and  governess.  Overtaking  a  peasant 
girl  of  her  own  age,  neatly  dressed,  and  probably  wishing  to  enter 
into  conversation  with  her,  she  said  : 

"  My  dog  is  very  tired.     Will  you  carry  him,  please?  " 
The  good-natured  child,  ignorant  of  the  rank  of  the  speaker, 
took  up  the  dog,  and  walked  along  for  some  time  by  the  side  of 
the  Princess,  the  girls  chatting  merrily  together.     At  last  she  said  : 


FROM  PRINCESS  TO  QUEEN  69 

41 1  am  tired  now,  and  can't  carry  your  dog  any  longer." 

44  Indeed  !  "  the  Princess  said.  "  Impossible  !  You  have  only 
carried  him  a  little  way." 

44  Quite  far  enough,"  the  girl  replied.  "  Besides,  I  am  going  to 
my  aunt's  ;  and  if  your  dog  must  be  carried,  why  not  carry  him 
yourself  ?" 

44  And  who  is  your  aunt  ?"  \ 

44  Mrs.  Johnstone,  the  miller's  wife." 

"  And  where  does  she  live  ?  " 

"  In  that  little  white  house  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill." 

As  they  talked  they  stood  still,  which  gave  the  Duchess  of 
Kent  and  the  governess  time  to  come  up. 

44  Oh,  I  should  like  to  see  your  aunt,"  the  Princess  said.  "  I 
will  go  with  you.  Let  us  run  down  the  hill  together." 

44  No,  no,  Princess,"  the  governess  said,  taking  her  hand  ;  4<  you 
have  talked  long  enough  with  this  little  girl,  and  now  the  Duchess 
wishes  you  to  walk  with  her." 

At  the  word  "  Princess  "  the  other  child  blushed  with  confusion  ; 
but  she  was  kindly  thanked  by  the  Duchess  for  her  trouble,  and 
received  a  present  of  half-a-crown.  She  curtseyed  her  thanks,  ran 
off  to  her  aunt's,  and  related  her  adventure.  The  half-crown  was 
afterwards  framed  and  hung  up  as  a  memento  of  her  meeting  with 
the  future  Queen. 

As  years  went  on  the  4I  royal  progresses  "  were  continued,  the 
Duchess  and  her  daughter  visiting  some  section  of  the  country  an- 
nually. They  spent  the  winter  of  1834  at  St.  Leonards,  and  here 
again  the  life  of  the  Princess  was  in  danger.  While  she  and  her 
mother  were  driving  between  Hastings  and  St.  Leonards,  the  horses 
became  restive  and  ran  away.  The  spot  was  one  between  the  cliffs 
and  the  sea  that  rendered  such  an  adventure  very  dangerous.  The 
unmanageable  horses  might  easily  have  hurled  the  carriage  against 
the  rocks,  or  have  flung  it  into  the  sea.  A  gentleman,  Mr.  Peckham 
Meiklethwaite,  who  was  near  at  hand,  rushed  to  the  rescue,  seized 
the  horses,  and,  with  the  aid  of  others,  brought  them  to  a  stand. 


70  FROM  PRINCESS  TO  QUEEN 

For  his  readiness  and  courage,  and  the  value  of  his  service, 
Victoria  made  him  a  baronet  on  her  accession  to  the  throne. 

After  the  return  to  Kensington  Palace  the  Princess  suffered 
from  a  severe  attack  of  illness.  For  some  time  preceding  her  fif- 
teenth birthday  she  looked  pale  and  languid,  and  the  violent 
changes  of  temperature  subjected  her  to  the  only  serious  indis- 
position she  had  hitherto  experienced.  She  soon  recovered  her 
health,  however,  and  was  able  to  accompany  King  William  and 
Queen  Adelaide  to  the  Grand  Musical  Festival  in  Westminster 
Abbey,  when  she  was  greeted  with  enthusiasm  and  affection  by  the 
loyal  crowds  which  had  assembled  on  the  occasion. 

In  1835  the  Duchess  and  her  daughter  visited  Burghley  House, 
the  seat  of  the  Marquis  of  Exeter.  Here  three  hundred  noble 
guests  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  their  future  Queen,  and  the 
Princess  opened  the  ball,  dancing  with  Lord  Exeter.  After  that 
one  dance  she  withdrew  and  went  to  bed. 

AN  AMERICAN'S  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  PRINCESS 

The  Ascot  races  of  June,  1835,  were  witnessed  by  a  brilliant 
gathering.  On  the  principal  day  the  Princess  Victoria  made  her 
first  appearance  on  a  race-course  with  the  royal  family.  She  was 
seen  there,  in  company  with  Queen  Adelaide,  by  the  American 
writer,  N.  P.  Willis,  who  thus  put  on  record  his  opinion  of  her 
appearance  : 

"  In  one  of  the  intervals  I  walked  under  the  King's  stand, 
and  saw  her  Majesty  the  Queen  and  the  young  Princess  Victoria 
very  distinctly.  They  were  leaning  over  the  railing,  listening  to  a 
ballad-singer,  and  seeming  to  be  as  much  interested  and  amused 
as  any  simple  country-folk  would  be.  The  Princess  is  much  better- 
looking  than  any  picture  of  her  in  the  shops,  and  for  the  heir  to 
such  a  crown  as  that  of  England,  quite  unnecessarily  pretty  and 
interesting." 

Carlyle,  in  a  private  letter — written  in  1838 — pictures  the 
young  Queen  in  something  of  his  usual  quaint  style :  "  Going 


FROM  PRINCESS  TO  QUEEN  71 

through  the  Green  Park  yesterday,  I  saw  her  little  Majesty  taking 
her  departure  for  Windsor.  I  had  seen  her  another  day  at  Hyde 
Park  Corner  coming  in  from  the  daily  ride.  She  is  decidedly  a 
pretty-looking  little  creature ;  health,  clearness,  graceful  timidity, 
looking  out  from  her  young  face,  '  frail  cockle  on  the  black 
bottomless  deluges.'  One  could  not  help  some  interest  in  her, 
situated  as  mortal  seldom  was." 

Similar  testimonies  to  the  prettiness  of  the  Princess  are 
numerous — many  of  them,  very  likely,  inspired  by  loyalty  rather 
than  conviction.  Greville,  speaking  of  her  appearance  at  the  ball, 
given  in  1839  to  tne  li^6  Queen  of  Portugal,  is  less  complimentary. 
"  It  was  pretty  enough,"  he  says,  "  and  I  saw  for  the  first  time  our 
little  Victoria.  Our  little  Princess  is  a  short,  plain-looking  child, 
and  not  near  so  good-looking  as  the  Portuguese." 

THE   CONFIRMATION    OF    THE    PRINCESS 

On  the  3Oth  of  August,  1835,  the  Princess  was  confirmed  by 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  assisted  by  the  Bishop  of  London, 
the  ceremony  taking  place  in  the  Chapel  Royal,  St.  James'.  The 
King  and  Queen  and  some  other  members  of  the  royal  family  were 
present.  The  scene  was  a  touching  one,  the  Princess  exhibiting 
strong  marks  of  sensibility  during  the  pathetic  exhortation  in 
which  the  Archbishop  spoke  of  the  great  responsibility  attaching 
to  her  exalted  station.  When  he  reminded  her  of  the  necessity  of 
looking  up  to  the  King  of  Kings  for  counsel  and  support  in  the 
trials  that  awaited  her,  her  composure  gave  way,  tears  flowed  from 
her  eyes,  and  at  length,  overcome  by  emotion,  she  laid  her  head 
upon  her  mother's  shoulder  and  sobbed  aloud. 

In  May,  1836,  there  came  to  visit  ''Aunt  Kent  and  Cousin 
Victoria  "  at  Kensington,  two  young  German  Princes,  Ernest  and 
Albert,  the  latter  being  the  one  whose  life  afterwards  was  to  be  so 
closely  twined  with  that  of  his  fair  young  cousin.  Albert  was  three 
months  younger  than  Victoria,  and  almost  from  the  first  his  grand- 
mother hoped  he  would  become  husband  of  the  Queen  of  England. 


?2  FROM  PRINCESS  TO  QUEEN 

It  is  said  his  nurse  used  to  talk  to  him  of  "  his  little  bride  in  Eng- 
land, the  sweet  Mayflower."  The  cousins  met  for  the  first  time 
when  the  Duke  of  Saxe  Coburgcame  with  his  two  sons  to  London. 

"  What  a  peep  at  fairyland  that  must  have  been,"  one  author 
writes,  "  when  in  the  blossoming  May  the  two  who  were  to  be 
eternally  united  met  for  the  first  time  !  The  beautiful  gardens  full 
of  bloom  and  sweetness ,  the  fair  young  Princess  in  the  quaint, 
old  palace,  waiting,  as  it  were,  for  the  destined  knight  ;  the  sunshine 
and  shadow  ;  the  perfume  and  melody  surrounding  her  ! " 

But  the  visit  was  not  all  an  idyl.  True,  the  Prince  accom- 
panied the  Princess  in  her  songs,  and  aided  her  in  her  drawings  ; 
but  he  had  to  attend  a  King's  levee,  which  he  found  "  very  fatiguing, 
but  interesting;"  also  to  dine  with  the  King  and  Queen,  and 
attend  a  concert  which  lasted  till  two  in  the  morning.  Then  there 
was  a  drawing-room,  where  Victoria  stood  beside  the  Queen,  and 
he  saw  nearly  two  thousand  persons  pass  by.  This  was  followed 
by  a  dinner,  very  long  and  very  late,  where  the  Prince,  used 
to  simple  German  habits  and  early  hours,  "  had  some  hard  battles  to 
fight  against  sleepiness."  There  was  also  a  splendid  fancy  ball  at 
Kensington,  where  the  Prince  had  to  stay  up  till  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  In  addition  there  was  much  visiting  and  sight-seeing,  and 
Ernest  and  Albert  were  probably  glad  enough  when  their  four 
weeks'  visit  came  to  an  end. 

In  the  following  year  the  Princess  Victoria  came  of  age — at 
eighteen  English  sovereigns  are  declared  of  age.  There  were 
great  rejoicings.  The  24th  of  May  was  observed  as  a  general  holi- 
day. In  the  early  hours  of  morning  bands  serenaded  the  Princess, 
and  the  day  closed  with  a  grand  State  ball  at  St.  James'  Palace, 
where,  for  the  first  time,  the  Princess  took  precedence  of  her 
mother.  This  was,  however,  merely  a  formal  and  ceremonial  pre- 
cedence, for  we  read  that  in  every  detail  of  home  and  private  life 
the  mother  was  as  implicitly  obeyed  and  as  tenderly  loved  as  ever 
she  had  been.  The  Princess  danced  first  with  Lord  Fitzalan, 
who  became  Duke  of  Norfolk,  and  afterwards  with  the  Austrian 


FROM  PRINCESS  TO  QUEEN  73 

Prince  Esterhazy.  The  latter  was  then  making  a  brilliant  figure  in 
society,  not  because  of  his  merits,  but  because  he  sparkled  with 
diamonds  literally  from  head  to  foot.  They  were  even  upon  the 
heels  of  his  boots.  In  the  evening  the  metropolis  was  brilliantly 
illuminated,  and  the  event  was  celebrated  by  public  rejoicing  in 
many  parts  of  the  country. 

The  Princess  received  many  beautiful  presents — amongst 
others  a  magnificent  pianoforte,  worth  two  hundred  guineas,  from 
the  King.  On  the  following  day  numerous  addresses  were 
presented  from  various  cities,  towns  and  societies. 

On  May  29,  1837,  she  made  her  last  appearance  at  Court  as 
Princess  Victoria,  and  shortly  afterwards  her  final  appearance  in 
public  as  heiress  presumptive  at  the  charity  ball  given  at  the  Opera 
House  for  the  benefit  of  the  Spitalfields  weavers.  Her  life  as 
Princess  thus  closed  with  a  charitable  act,  and  she  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  knowing  that  the  terrible  sufferings  which  afflicted  the  poor 
in  the  East  End  were  soon  afterward  alleviated. 

The  King  and  Queen  had  not  been  able  to  attend  the  birthday 
ball  of  the  Princess.  He  was  then  lying  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  and 
his  wife  in  close  attendance  upon  him.  In  less  than  a  month  from 
that  day  death  entered  the  King's  palace  and  William  IV.  "was 
gathered  to  his  fathers."  The  Princess  Victoria  had  become  QUEEN 
VICTORIA,  Monarch  of  the  United  Kingdom. 


CHAPTER    IV 

Accession  and  Coronation 

AT  midnight  of  June  20,  1837,  the  Princess  Victoria  was  happily 
asleep  in  her  bed  at  Kensington  Palace,  her  mind  free  from 
all  dreams  of  royalty  an.d  queenliness,  for  if  any  dreams 
came  to  her  in  that  sweet  slumber  they  were  those  due  to  girlish 
thoughts  and  a  wholesome  young  life.  But  events  were  hastening 
which  would  rouse  her  suddenly  to  fresh  thoughts  and  a  new  life. 
Two  hours  passed,  during  which,  in  a  room  of  Windsor  Castle,  a 
dying  King  lay  breathing  his  last.  Suddenly  on  the  closed  doors 
of  Kensington  Palace  came  a  furious  knocking,  enough,  as  it  would 
seem,  to  waken  the  dead,  though  no  echo  of  it  reached  the  sleep- 
ing Princess  in  her  distant  chamber.  It  was  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  and  the  Lord  Chamberlain  of  England,  coming  in 
headlong  haste  to  inform  the  slumbering  maiden  that  she  was  no 
longer  a  Princess,  but  a  Queen.  King  William  IV.  had  passed 
from  life  at  twelve  minutes  after  two  of  that  memorable  morning 
of  the  2Oth  of  June,  and,  as  custom  demanded,  they  sped  to  be  the 
first  to  say  :  "  The  King  is  dead  ;  long  live  the  Queen  !  " 

What  followed  is  graphically  told  by  Miss  Wynn,  in  her 
"  Diary  of  a  Lady  of  Quality:" 

"They  knocked,  they  rang,  they  thumped  for  a  considerable 
time  before  they  could  rouse  the  porter  at  the  gate ;  they  were 
again  kept  waiting  in  the  courtyard,  then  turned  into  one  of  the 
lower  rooms,  where  they  seemed  to  be  forgotten  by  everybody. 
They  rang  the  bell,  and  desired  that  the  attendant  of  the  Princess 
Victoria  might  be  sent  to  inform  her  Royal  Highness  that  they  re- 
quested an  audience  on  business  of  importance. 

74 


ACCESSION  AND  CORONATION 


75 


"  After  another  delay  and  another  ringing  to  inquire  the  cause, 
the  attendant  was  summoned,  who  stated  that  the  Princess  was  in 
such  a  sweet  sleep  that  she  could  not  venture  to  disturb  her.  Then 
they  said,  '  We  are  come  on  business  of  State  to  the  Queen,  and 
even  her  sleep  must  give  way  to  that.'  It  did  ;  and  to  prove  that 
she  did  not  keep  them  waiting,  in  a  few  moments  she  came  into  the 

room  in  a  loose  white 


her  night-cap  thrown 
off  and  her  hair  falling 
upon  her  shoulders, 
her  feet  in  slippers, 
tears  in  her  eyes,  but 
perfectly  collected  and 
dignified." 

It  is  said  that  the 
Queen's  first  words, 
turning  to  the  Primate, 
were  :  "  I  beg  your 
Grace  to  pray  for  me  ;" 
which  he  did. 

The  next  thingwas 
to  write  to  the 
widowed  Queen  Ade- 
laide a  kind  letter,  in 
reply  to  a  request  that 
she  might  stay  at 
Windsor  until  after 
the  funeral.  It  was  addressed  to  "  Her  Majesty  the  Queen." 
Someone  remarked  that  it  should  be  directed  to  the  Queen  Dowager. 
"  I  am  aware  of  that,"  was  the  reply  of  her  who  was  a  lady  as  well  as 
a  Queen ;  "but  I  will  not  be  the  first  to  remind  her  of  her  altered 
position."  The  same  kind  instinct  was  shown  by  another  act  of 
the  Sovereign.  When  she  was  going  to  Windsor  to  visit  "Aunt 


INVITATION  TO  THE  CORONATION 


76  ACCESSION  AND  CORONATION 

Adelaide,"  she  directed  that  the  flag  on  the  castle,  which  was 
half-mast  high  from  respect  to  the  late  King,  should  not  be  drawn 
up  on  her  arrival. 

The  case  was  this,  as  Carlyle  well  put  it.  A  girl  at  an  age 
when,  in  ordinary  circumstances,  she  would  hardly  be  trusted  to 
choose  a  bonnet  for  herself,  was  called  upon  to  undertake  respon- 
sibilities from  which  an  archangel  might  have  shrunk.  Naturally, 
everyone  was  anxious  to  know  how  she  would  act.  This  was  seen 
at  her  first  Privy  Council,  held  at  eleven  o'clock  on  the  day  of 
which  we  are  speaking.  "Never,"  said  Greville,  "was  anything 
like  the  first  impression  she  produced,  or  the  chorus  of  praise  and 
admiration  which  is  raised  about  her  manner  and  behavior.  She 
went  through  the  first  ceremonies  with  perfect  calmness  and  self- 
possession,  but  at  the  same  time  with  a  graceful  modesty  and  pro- 
priety particularly  interesting  and  ingratiating."  The  Duke  of 
Wellington  told  the  Clerk  of  the  Council  that  if  she  had  been  his 
own  daughter,  he  could  not  have  desired  to  see  her  perform  her 
part  better. 

THE  QUEEN'S  FIRST  SPEECH 

The  girl-Queen,  who  was  plainly  dressed,  and  in  mourning, 
bowed  on  entering  the  room,  and  then  sat  down  upon  the  arm-chair 
or  extemporized  throne  that  had  been  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
table.  She  at  once  began  to  read  in  a  clear  and  distinct  voice, 
witnout  any  embarrassment,  the  following  speech  : — 

"  The  severe  and  afflicting  loss  which  the  nation  has  sustained 
by  the  death  of  his  Majesty,  my  beloved  uncle,  has  devolved  upon 
me  the  duty  of  administering  the  government  of  this  Empire.  This 
awful  responsibility  is  imposed  upon  me  so  suddenly,  and  at  so  early 
a  period  of  my  life,  that  I  should  feel  myself  utterly  oppressed  by 
the  burden  were  I  not  sustained  by  the  hope  that  Divine  Provi- 
dence, which  has  called  me  to  this  work,  will  give  me  strength  for 
the  performance  of  it,  and  that  I  shall  find  in  the  purity  of  my 
intentions,  and  in  my  zeal  for  the  public  welfare,  that  support  and 
>hose  resources  which  usually  belong  to  a  more  mature  age  and  to 


ST.  JAMES'  PALACE 
One  of  the  ancient  Palace*  ol  the  English  Kings.     It  contains  a  beautiful  Royal  Chapel 


THE   ROYAL   CHAPEL   IN    ST.  JAMES'    PALACE 
Where  many  of  the  christening  of   Koval  Children  take  nlace 


w   . 
a  5 

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a| 

a  JK 


ACCESSION  AND  CORONATION  79 

long  experience.  I  place  my  firm  reliance  on  the  wisdom  of 
Providence,  and  upon  the  loyalty  and  affection  of  my  people.  I 
esteem  it  also  a  peculiar  advantage  that  I  succeed  to  a  sovereign 
whose  constant  regard  for  the  rights  and  liberties  of  his  subjects, 
and  whose  desire  to  promote  the  amelioration  of  the  laws  and 
institutions  of  this  country,  have  rendered  his  name  the  object  of 
general  attachment  and  veneration.  Educated  in  England,  under 
the  tender  and  enlightened  care  of  a  most  affectionate  mother,  I 
have  learned  from  my  infancy  to  respect  and  love  the  constitution 
of  my  native  country.  It  will  be  my  unceasing  study  to  maintain 
the  reformed  religion,  as  by  law  established,  securing,  at  the  same 
time,  to  all  the  full  enjoyment  of  religious  liberty.  And  I  shall 
steadily  protect  the  rights  and  promote  to  the  utmost  of  my  power 
the  happiness  and  welfare  of  all  classes  of  my  subjects." 

A    TRAIT    OF    THE    QUEEN'S    PERSONAL   CHARACTER 

After  the  Queen  had  read  her  speech  and  taken  and  signed 
the  oath  for  the  security  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  the  privy 
councilors  were  sworn  ;  the  two  royal  Dukes  first  by  themselves. 
"And,"  says  Greville,  "as  these  old  men,  her  uncles,  knelt  before 
her,  swearing  allegiance  and  kissing  her  hand,  I  saw  her  blush  up 
to  the  eyes,  as  if  she  felt  the  contrast  between  their  civil  and  their 
natural  relations ;  and  tnis  was  the  only  sign  of  emotion  that  she 
evinced.  Her  manner  to  them  was  very  graceful  and  engaging; 
she  kissed  them  both,  and  rose  from  her  chair  and  moved  towards 
the  Duke  of  Sussex,  who  was  farthest  from  her,  and  too  infirm  to 
reach  her.  She  seemed  rather  bewildered  at  the  multitude  of  men 
who  were  sworn,  and  who  came  one  after  the  other  to  kiss  her 
hand ;  but  she  did  not  speak  to  anybody,  nor  did  she  make  the 
slightest  difference  in  her  manner,  or  show  any  in  her  countenance 
to  any  individual  of  any  rank,  station,  or  party." 

When  taking  the  oath  about  the  Church  of  Scotland,  a  trait  of 
the  Queen's  personal  character  peeped  out.  Recapitulating  the 
Act  of  Parliament  which  used  the  old-fashioned  word  intituled,  her 


8o  ACCESSION  AND  CORONATION 

Majesty  pronounced  it  as  it  was  spelt,  upon  which,  Viscount  Mel- 
bourne, who  stood  beside  her,  whispered  :  "  Entitled,  please  your 
Majesty."  The  little  lady  drew  herself  up,  and  darting  a  swift 
glance  of  surprise  and  indignation  at  her  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury, 
re-cast  her  eyes  upon  the  paper  before  her,  repeating,  with  a  raised 
voice  and  perceptible  emphasis  :  "An  Act  intituled" 

An  hour  after  the  Privy  Council  there  was  another  Council : ; 
that  of  the  Cabinet  Ministers.  Over  this  the  royal  young  lady 
presided  with  as  much  ease  as  if  she  had  been  doing  nothing  else 
all  her  life.  Pale  and  fatigued,  she  went  at  its  conclusion  to  her 
mother,  and  throwing  herself  on  that  loving  breast,  burst  into  tears. 
When  soothed  and  quieted,  she  said  :  "  I  can  scarcely  believe  I  am 
Queen  of  England ;  but  I  suppose  I  am." 

The  mother  answered:  "You  know  you  are,  my  love.  The 
scene  you  have  just  left  must  have  assured  you." 

Smiling,  the  Queen  said :  "  I  suppose  I  shall  grow  used  to  it." 
Then,  half-earnestly,  half-playfully :  "  Since  it  is  so,  and  your  little 
daughter  is  Sovereign  of  this  great  country,  I  shall  make  you  the 
object  of  my  first  royal  experiment.  Your  Queen  commands  you, 
dear  mamma,  to  leave  her  quite  alone  for  two  hours." 

The  Princess  Victoria  was  formally  proclaimed  Queen  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  on  the  the  2ist  of  June,  from  St.  James' 
Palace.  Long  before  the  hour  fixed  for  the  ceremony  all  the 
avenues  to  the  palace  were  crowded,  every  balcony,  window,  and 
elevated  position  being  filled  with  spectators.  The  space  in  the 
quadrangle,  in  front  of  the  window  at  which  her  Majesty  was  to 
appear,  was  crowded  with  ladies  and  gentlemen,  and  even  the  para- 
pets above  were  filled  with  people.  The  great  Irish  agitator, 
O'Connell,  in  the  front  line  opposite  the  windows,  attracted  con- 
siderable attention  by  waving  his  hat  and  cheering  most  vehe- 
mently. 

The  guns  in  the  park  fired  a  salute  at  ten  o'clock,  and  immedi- 
ately afterwards  the  Queen  made  her  appearance  at  the  window  of 
ihe  Presence  Chamber. 


A CCESSION  AND  CORONA  TION  8 1 

She  stood  between  Lords  Melbourne  and  Lansdowne,  and  was 
received  with  deafening  cheers.  Her  mother  also,  who  was  close 
behind  her,  received  most  cordial  plaudits.  The  Queen  looked 
very  fatigued  and  pale,  but  returned  the  repeated  cheers  with  which 
she  was  greeted  with  remarkable  ease  and  dignity.  She  was  dressed 
in  deep  mourning,  with  a  white  tippet,  white  cuffs,  and  a  border  of 
white  lace  under  a  small  black  bonnet,  which  was  placed  far  back 
on  her  head,  exhibiting  her  light  hair  in  front  simply  parted  over 
her  forehead.  The  Queen  and  the  Duchess  of  Kent  regarded  the 
proceedings  with  much  interest.  As  her  Majesty  appeared  at  the 
window  the  band  of  the  Royal  Guards  struck  up  the  national 
anthem.  On  its  conclusion,  Sir  William  Woods,  acting  for  the 
Garter  King-at-Arms,  and  accompanied  by  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  as 
Earl  Marshal  of  England,  read  aloud  the  proclamation  containing 
the  official  announcement  of  the  death  of  King  William  IV.,  and 
of  the  consequent  accession  of  Queen  Victoria  to  the  throne  of 
the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 

About  three  weeks  after  being  proclaimed,  her  Majesty  left 
Kensington,  and  took  up  her  residence  in  Buckingham  Palace. 
Four  days  later  she  went  in  State  to  prorogue  Parliament.  Her 
carriage  was  drawn  by  eight  cream-colored  horses — "  the  creams  " 
so  dear  to  the  London  populace.  This  was  preceded  by  the 
Marchalmen,  a  party  of  Yeomen  of  the  Guard,  in  State  costumes, 
and  runners.  On  arriving  at  the  House  of  Lords,  she  was  saluted 
by  a  battalion  of  the  Guards,  and  while  their  band  played  the 
national  anthem  she  was  conducted  to  a  splendid  new  throne. 
When  she  had  taken  her  seat,  the  royal  mantle  of  purple  velvet 
was  placed  on  her  Majesty's  shoulders  by  the  Lords-in-waiting. 

It  was  certainly  not  on  account  of  any  deficiency  in  raiment 
that  this  addition  was  made,  for  the  Queen  had  already  on  a  crim- 
son velvet  robe  trimmed  with  gold  and  ermine,  and  underneath  a 
white  silk  kirtle  also  embroidered  with  gold.  She  wore  a  stomacher 
ablaze  with  diamonds.  On  her  arms  were  diamond  bracelets,  and 
on  the  left  one  the  badge  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter. 


82 

Then  the  Queen  began  to  read  her  speech  in  a  voice  which 
Fanny  Kemble,  the  great  actress,  who  was  present,  tells  us,  "  was 
exquisite.  Nor  have  I  ever  heard  any  spoken  words  more  musical 
in  their  gentle  distinctness  than  '  My  Lords  and  Gentlemen,'  which 
broke  the  breathless  silence  of  the  illustrious  assembly  whose  gaze 
was  riveted  on  that  fair  flower  of  royalty.  The  enunciation  was 
as  perfect  as  the  intonation  was  melodious,  and  I  think  it  impossible 
to  hear  a  more  excellent  utterance  than  that  of  the  Queen's  English 
by  the  English  Queen." 

The  speech  ended  with  an  emphatic  commendation  of  the 
proposal  to  diminish  capital  punishment,  and  a  promise  that  she 
would  endeavor  to  strengthen  and  improve  the  civil  and  ecclesias- 
tical institutions  of  the  country.  The  Duke  of  Sussex,  with  tears 
rolling  down  his  aged  cheeks,  could  not  refrain  from  softly 
exclaiming  as,  with  deep  feeling,  the  Queen  thus  struck  the  key- 
note of  her  reign,  "  Beautiful !  beautiful ! " 

HER    FIRST    GREAT    PRIME    MINISTER 

That  this  ceremony,  following  as  it  did  so  many  others,  was  a 
great  strain  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  on  returning  to  the  robing- 
room  the  young  Sovereign  fainted.  Indeed,  the  Duchess  of  Kent 
had  dreaded  the  effect  of  so  much  excitement,  and  had  endeavored 
to  persuade  her  not  to  prorogue  Parliament  in  person  ;  but  she 
scorned  the  idea  of  excitement,  and  told  her  mother  that  it  was  "  a 
word  she  did  not  like  to  hear.'-' 

During  the  next  two  months  there  was  a  round  of  receptions, 
drawing-rooms,  concerts,  balls.  At  her  Majesty's  first  soiree  two 
thousand  gentlemen  were  present.  The  crush  was  so  great  that 
orders  and  decorations  were  torn  off  and  diamond  buckles  lost  from 
shoes. 

After  her  accession  the  Queen  had  to  face  many  difficulties, 
but  she  was  fortunate  in  having  a  Prime  Minister  like  Lord  Mel- 
bourne to  explain  her  official  duties.  He  was  in  his  fifty-eighth 
year,  and  inspired  his  royal  mistress  with  a  great  respect  for  his 


ACCESSION  AND  CORONATION  83 

ability  and  experience  of  public  life.  It  is  said  that  he  began  his 
instruction  by  reading  to  her  the  story  of  Solomon  asking  for 
wisdom  when  told  to  request  that  which  he  most  desired. 

For  so  young  a  Sovereign  her  conscientiousness  was  great. 
The  Prime  Minister  used  to  say  that  he  would  rather  have  ten 
kings  to  manage  than  one  queen,  for  he  could  not  present  a  single 
document  for  signature  without  her  Majesty  asking  many  questions 
about  it,  and  frequently  saying  that  she  would  have  to  take  time  to 
consider.  From  the  first  she  let  him  know  her  intention  in  this 
matter.  It  was  one  day  when  he  said  that  her  Majesty  need  not 
scruple  to  sign  a  certain  paper  without  examination,  as  it  was  not  a 
matter  of  "paramount  importance." 

"But  it  is  for  me,"  she  replied,  "a  matter  of  paramount 
importance  whether  or  not  I  attach  my  signature  to  a  document 
with  which  I  am  not  thoroughly  satisfied." 

Not  less  firm  and  conscientious  was  the  reply  of  the  youthful 
monarch  when  the  same  adviser  urged  the  expediency  of  some 
measure  :  "  I  have  been  taught,  my  lord,  to  judge  between  what  is 
right  and  what  is  wrong ;  but  expediency  is  a  word  I  neither  wish 
to  hear  nor  to  understand." 

ATTENTION    TO    RELIGIOUS    DUTIES 

The  following  story  is  of  interest,  as  showing  the  young 
Queen's  strict  adherence  to  the  duty  of  discriminating  between  her 
religious  and  secular  duties  :  Late  one  Saturday  evening,  after  she 
had  gone  to  Windsor,  one  of  her  Ministers  arrived  at  the  Castle. 

"  I  have  brought  down  for  your  Majesty's  inspection  some 
documents  of  great  importance.  But  as  I  shall  be  obliged  to 
trouble  you  to  examine  them  in  detail,  I  will  not  encroach  on  the 
time  of  your  Majesty  to-night,  but  will  request  your  attention 
to-morrow  morning." 

"  To-morrow  morning  !     To-morrow  is  Sunday,  my  lord." 

"  True,  your  Majesty,  but  business  of  the  State  will  not  admit 
of  delay." 


84  ACCESSION  AND  CORONATION 

"I  am  aware  of  that,  and,  as  your  lordship  could  not  have 
arrived  earlier  at  the  palace  to-night,  I  will,  if  the  papers  are  of 
such  pressing  importance,  attend  to  their  contents  to-morrow." 

Next  morning  the  Queen  and  Court  went  to  church,  the  noble 
lord  accompanying  them.  The  sermon  was  on  "  The  Christian  Sab- 
bath, its  duties  and  obligations."  After  service  the  Queen  inquired  : 

"  How  did  your  lordship  like  the  sermon  ?  " 

"  Very  much  indeed,  your  Majesty,"  was  his  reply,  although 
he  was  rather  uncomfortable. 

"  Well,  then,  I  will  not  conceal  from  you  that  last  night  I  sent 
the  clergyman  the  text  from  which  he  preached.  I  hope  we  shall 
be  improved  by  the  sermon." 

After  this  nothing  was  naturally  said  about  the  State  papers 
that  day.  At  night,  before  retiring,  the  Queen  said  : 

"  To-morrow  morning,  my  lord,  at  any  hour  you  please — as 
early  as  seven,  my  lord,  if  you  like — we  will  look  into  these 
papers." 

"  I  could  not  think  of  intruding  upon  your  Majesty  at  so  early 
an  hour — nine  o'clock  will  be  quite  soon  enough."  And  so  it  was, 
the  State  business  was  attended  to,  and  the  Minister  returned  to 
London  in  time  for  his  duties. 

"The  Queen,"  says  Miss  Yonge,  "took  up  her  abode  for  the 
chief  part  of  the  year  in  Buckingham  Palace,  using  beautiful  Wind- 
sor Castle  for  her  country  home,  and  with  her  mother  always  by 
her  side.  Every  one  was  eager  to  see  their  young  Sovereign,  and 
very  kindly  did  she  gratify  them,  always  bearing  in  mind  the  say- 
ing of  old  Louis  XVIII.,  that  the  politeness  of  royalty  is  punctual- 
ity. The  custom  was  that  the  royal  family  should  parade  on  Sun- 
day afternoons  on  the  broad  terrace  at  Windsor,  and  the  public  be 
admitted  to  see  them,  and  eagerly  did  they  avail  themselves  of  the 
opportunity  ;  but  this  is  one  of  the  many  things  that  have  been  put 
an  end  to  by  the  greater  facility  and  cheapness  of  traveling,  since 
such  crowds  would  have  thronged  by  train  to  enjoy  the  spectacle  as 
to  destroy  all  comfort  even  for  themselves,  and  cause  confusion." 


ACCESSION  AND  CORONATION  85 

On  November  gth  came  a  memorable  day  for  London,  when 
the  Queen  paid  a  State  visit  to  the  city,  and  was  present  at  the 
inaugural  banquet  of  the  Lord  Mayor.  This  was  an  elaborate  cere 
mony,  of  which  we  must  be  excused  from  giving  the  particulars, 
since  grander  and  more  important  ceremonies  remain  to  be  de- 
scribed. We  trust  it  will  be  of  more  interest  to  the  reader  to  be 
told  an  example  of  the  Queen's  kindness  of  heart. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  brought  the  death-warrant  of  a 
soldier  for  her  Majesty's  signature.  It  was  her  first  dread  act  of 
the  kind,  and  she  shrank  from  the  duty.  With  tears  in  her  eyes 
she  asked : 

"  Have  you  nothing  to  say  on  behalf  of  this  man  ?  " 

"Nothing,"  replied  the  Iron  Duke;  "he  has  deserted  three 
times." 

"  Oh,  your  Grace,  think  again  !  " 

"Well,  your  Majesty,  he  is  certainly  a  bad  soldier;  but  there 
was  somebody  who  spoke  as  to  his  good  character.  He  may  be  a 
good  fellow  in  private  life." 

"  Oh,  thank  you  !  "  exclaimed  the  Queen,  as  she  dashed  off  the 
words,  "  Pardoned,  Victoria,"  on  the  awful  parchment. 

Owing  to  her  natural  shrinking  from  this  unpleasant  duty,  an 
Act  of  Parliament  was  passed  authorizing  the  signature  to  be  per- 
formed by  commission. 

COURT    ETIQUETTE 

The  fact  that  Court  etiquette  and  antiquated  precedent  were 
at  this  time  considered  of  so  much  importance  caused  her  Majesty's 
life  to  be  more  or  less  a  laborious  parade.  Even  her  mother  could 
not  enter  the  Queen's  room  without  a  special  summons.  This  was 
to  avoid  giving  cause  for  suspicion  of  undue  influence.  When  her 
old  governess,  the  Duchess  of  Northumberland,  came  to  visit  her, 
the  officials  agreed  that  the  royal  maiden  must  receive  her  sitting. 
This,  however,  was  too  much  for  the  girl's  warm  heart.  She  coulo* 
not  help  running  to  meet  the  Duchess,  throwing  her  arms  round 
her  neck,  and  kissing  her  with  the  old  warmth. 


86  ACCESSION  AND  CORONATION 

During  the  first  months  of  the  reign,  much  worry,  which  is 
more  trying  than  work,  was  caused  by  both  Whigs  and  Tories 
claiming  the  Sovereign  for  their  own.  It  was  difficult  work  to 
show  by  every  word  and  act  that  she  understood  too  well  the  duties 
of  a  constitutional  monarch  to  favor  any  party.  All  that  the  Whigs 
vcould  say  was  that  she  did  not  turn  them  out  of  office  when  she 
became  Queen.  What  the  Tories  replied  to  this  may  be  seen  by 
the  following,  which  someone  inscribed  on  the  window-pane  of  an 
inn  at  Huddersfield  : 

"The  Queen  is  with  us,"  Whigs  insulting  say, 

"  For  when  she  found  us  in,  she  let  us  stay.' ' 
It  may  be  so  ;  but  give  me  leave  to  doubt 
How  long  she'll  keep  you  when  she  finds  you  out. 

The  Queen  began  her  reign  by  acquiring  the  habit  of  working 
hard,  but  she  was  too  sensible  to  give  all  her  time  to  work,  one  of 
her  relaxations  being  the  habit  of  riding,  of  which  she  was  very 
fond.  Greville  tells  us  that  she  used  to  ride  almost  every  day  at 
two  o'clock  with  a  large  suite — the  larger,  the  more  to  her  liking. 

"  She  rides  for  two  hours  along  the  road,  and  the  greater  part 
of  the  time  at  a  full  gallop.  After  riding,  she  amuses  herself  for 
the  rest  of  the  afternoon  with  music  and  singing,  playing,  romping 
with  children,  if  there  are  any  in  the  castle  (and  she  is  so  fond  of 
them  that  she  generally  contrives  to  have  some  there),  or  in  any 
other  way  she  fancies." 

That  the  Queen  had  considerable  knowledge  of  and  profi- 
ciency in  music  was  well  known,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  un- 
witting compliment  which  Sir  George  Smart,  the  conductor,  paid 
when  he  told  the  orchestra  who  were  to  play  before  her  at  the 
Guildhall  banquet:  "We  must  be  very  particular,  for  if  we  are  at 
all  at  fault,  her  Majesty's  ear  will  detect  our  blunder." 

Most  people  have  read  Mendelssohn's  description  of  his  visit 
to  the  Queen  and  her  husband  soon  after  their  marriage.  The 
Prince  Consort  had  asked  the  great  composer  to  come  to  Windsor 


QUEEN  VICTORIA  TAKING  THE  OATH  TO  MAINTAIN 

THE  FROTESTAN  F  FAI  I  H 

"I  will,  to  the  utmost  ot  my  power,  maintain  the  Protestant  Reform   Religion,  established  by 

Law.  and  will  maintain  inviolably  the  settlement  of  the  United 

Chinch  of  England  and  Ireland  " 

Westminster  Abbey,  June  fSth,  1838. 


THE  QUEEN  RECEIVING  THE  SACRAMENT 
At  the  Coronation.     By  C.  R.  Leslie,  R.A.     (In  the  royal  collection.} 


THE  QUEEN'S  FIRST  COUNCII 


89 

and  try  a  new  organ  for  him.  Afterwards,  the  Prince  was  induced 
to  play  the  instrument  himself,  and  then  Mendelssohn  ventured 
to  ask  her  Majesty  to  sing,  which  she  graciously  did,  choosing  one 
of  the  great  artist's  own  compositions.  The  composer  was  de- 
lighted, but  the  Queen  did  not  think  that  she  had  done  herself, 
justice  on  the  occasion,  for  she  said  apologetically:  "Oh!  if  only' 
I  had  not  been  so  frightened ;  generally,  I  have  such  long  breath." 
It  is  the  usual  etiquette  that  the  coronation  of  a  sovereign 
should  be  delayed  some  time  after  the  accession ;  hence  the  first 
year  of  Victoria's  reign  she  was  an  uncrowned  Queen.  The  coro- 
nation was  fixed  for  June  28,  1838,  and  the  early  part  of  that  year 
seems  to  have  been  largely  occupied  by  elaborate  preparations  for 
this  ceremonial. 

IMPORTANT    QUESTIONS 

Questions  of  importance  arose,  which  had  to  be  settled  in 
advance,  the  coronation  of  a  maiden  calling  for  regulations  not 
necessary  in  that  of  a  man.  There  was,  for  instance,  the  pre- 
scribed ceremony  that  the  sovereign  should  be  kissed  on  the  left 
cheek  by  all  "  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal."  The  youthful 
Queen  naturally  shrank  from  the  ordeal  of  being  kissed  by  some 
six  hundred  men,  and  the  matter  was  compromised  by  substituting 
the  hand  for  the  face. 

Then  came  the  question  of  the  crown.  The  old  one,  worn  by 
the  recent  kings,  was  of  seven  pounds'  weight — rather  too  heavy  a 
burden  for  a  girlish  head, — and  a  new  one  of  half  the  weight  was 
ordered  to  be  made.  This,  while  lighter,  was  of  greater  elegance 
in  design  and  much  more  costly.  It  was  "composed  of  a  cap  of 
rich  purple  velvet  enclosed  by  hoops  of  silver.  Precious  stones  so< 
completely  covered  these  hoops,  that  the  body  seemed  a  blaze  of 
diamonds.  The  hoops  were  surmounted  by  a  ball  covered  with 
small  diamonds,  and  having  a  Maltese  cross  of  brilliants  on  the  top, 
and  in  the  centre  of  the  cross  a  magnificent  sapphire.  The  rim  of 
the  crown  was  ornamented  \\\\\\  fleur-de-lis  and  Maltese  crosses  of 
rare  and  singularly  rich  and  beautiful  description.  In  front  of  the 


90  ACCESSION  AND  CORONATION 

crown  sparkled  a  celebrated   ruby,  shaped   like  a  heart,  once  worn 
by  Edward  the   Black   Prince  ;    and  beneath,  an  immense  oblong 
sapphire.    Ermine  surrounded  the  lower  part  of  the  crown,  wrought 
jwith  a  vast  number  of  gems — rubies,  emeralds,  sapphires,  and  clus- 
ters of  drop  pearls.     The  crown  is  stated  to  have  contained  2,166 
precious  stones,  and  to  have  been  valued  at  ,£113,000,   or  nearly 
$600,000, before  the  celebrated  Koh-i-noor  was  added  to  it." 

As  the  day  for  the  supreme  ceremony  approached  the  excite- 
ment in  London  rose  to  fever  heat.  In  Westminster  Abbey,  where 
the  crowning  was  to  take  place,  elaborate  preparations  were  made, 
and  the  Earl-Marshal,  who  did  his  utmost  to  provide  for  the  multi- 
tude of  applications  for  admittance,  was  obliged  to  refuse  thousands 
an  opportunity  to  witness  the  spectacle.  The  orchestra  and  choir 
numbered  400,  and  many  ladies,  it  is  said,  gained  admission  on 
Coronation  Day  by  donning  some  kind  of  white  dress  and  overall, 
which  enabled  them  to  pass  as  choristers.  Peers  gained  admission 
for  their  children  by  dressing  them  as  pages,  and  bringing  them 
instead  of  servants.  The  poet  Campbell  gained  admission  by 
arguing  that  as  a  corner  of  the  Abbey  was  devoted  to  dead  poets, 
a  little  space  ought  to  be  given  to  a  living  one. 

A    MARVELOUS    SCENE 

Outside  the  Abbey,  the  city  was  as  active  in  preparation  for 
the  grand  event.  Hyde  Park  presented  a  marvelous  scene.  Per- 
mission had  been  given  for  a  fair  in  the  middle  of  the  park.  A 
great  space,  some  14,000  feet  in  length,  was  set  apart,  and  in  it 
booths,  shows,  and  all  sorts  of  things  connected  with  a  fair  were 
^erected.  Here,  night  by  night,  thousands  of  people  assembled.  In  St. 
James'  Park,  also,  tents  were  pitched  ;  this  being  an  artillery  encamp- 
ment, for  the  soldiers  inarched  up  from  Woolwich  to  fire  the  salutes. 

A  general  holiday  was  announced  for  Coronation  Day.  Pris- 
oners, as  well  as  paupers,  were  to  feast  royally.  Great  banquets 
vere  arranged.  An  ox  was  roasted  whole  in  Bishopsgate.  Coro- 
nation poems  and  effusions  of  every  kind  were  published.  The 


ACCESSION  AND  CORONATION  91 

dressmakers  were  working  day  and  night.  Along  the  line  of  the 
proposed  procession  scaffolds  were  erected,  and  windows  and  seats 
let  at  fancy  and  almost  fabulous  prices. 

The  grand  climax  of  all  this  bustle  of  anticipation  was  reached 
on  Coronation  Day,  June  28,  1838.  At  sunrise  London  was 
aroused  by  the  roar  of  artillery,  the  church  bells  rang  out  merry 
peals,  and  by  five  o'clock  some  ladies  of  the  highest  ranks,  who  had 
spent  all  night  at  their  toilet,  were  found  standing  at  the  doors  of 
the  Abbey,  anxious  to  secure  a  good  seat.  It  was  the  same  in  the 
densly  crowded  streets,  in  which  many  persons  had  chosen  good 
positions  on  the  previous  evening,  and  remained  all  night  in  the 
selected  spot. 

CORONATION    SCENE 

Soon  after  ten  o'clock  the  Queen  entered  her  State  coach  of 
glass  and  gilt  at  Buckingham  Palace ;  a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns 
boomed  forth  ;  the  royal  standard  was  run  up  by  a  party  of  tars  on 
the  Marble  Arch,  the  bands  struck  up  "  God  Save  the  Queen,"  the 
people  shouted  themselves  hoarse,  and  we  are  told  that  the  young 
Sovereign  was  "pale  with  intense  feeling,  her  lips  quivered,  and 
there  were  moments  when  she  with  difficulty  restrained  her  tears 
as  she  acknowledged  the  enthusiastic  greeting  of  the  enraptured 
myriads." 

At  the  corner  of  Pall  Mall  the  crowd  was  so  dense  that  the 
carriage  was  forced  to  halt.  The  police,  eager  to  clear  the  way 
quickly,  began  to  use  their  truncheons  on  the  heads  of  the  throng. 
Seeing  this,  the  Queen,  with  much  feeling,  bade  the  Master  of  the 
Horse  to  put  an  instant  stop  to  this,  and  instruct  the  police  to 
desist  from  all  harsh  measures.  Said  a  paper  the  next  morning, 
"  Many  a  citizen  has  this  day  to  thank  his  Sovereign  for  a  whole 
pate." 

While  this  was  passing  in  the  street,  Westminster  Abbey  was 
densely  thronged.  The  brilliant  scene  is  thus  described  by  Miss 
Martineau,  in  her  "Autobiography:" 


92  ACCESSION  AND  CORONATION 

"  The  stone  architecture  contrasted  finely  with  the  gay  colors 
of  the  multitude.  From  my  high  seat,  I  commanded  the  whole 
north  transept,  the  area  with  the  throne,  and  many  portions  of  gal- 
leries and  balconies  which  were  called  the  vaultings.  Except  the 
mere  sprinkling  of  oddities,  everybody  was  in  full  dress.  The 
scarlet  of  the  military  officers  mixed  in  well,  and  the  groups  of  the 
clergy  were  dignified  (some  of  them  splendid :  the  prebends,  for 
example,  were  in  gorgeous  robes  originally  worn  at  the  coronation 
of  James  II.,  and  carefully  preserved  for  such  august  occasions). 
To  an  unaccustomed  eye,  the  prevalence  of  court  dresses  had  a 
curious  effect ;  I  was  perpetually  taking  whole  groups  of  gentlemen 
for  Quakers,  till  I  recollected  myself.  The  Earl  Marshal's  assist- 
ants, called  'gold  sticks,'  looked  well  from  above,  lightly  flitting 
about  in  white  breeches,  silk  stockings,  blue  laced  frocks,  and  white 
sashes.  The  throne,  covered,  as  was  its  footstool,  with  cloth  of 
gold,  stood  on  an  elevation  of  four  steps  in  front  of  the  area.  The 
first  peeress  took  her  seat  at  a  quarter  to  seven,  and  three  of  the 
bishops  came  next.  From  that  time  peers  and  the  ladies  arrived 
faster  and  faster.  Each  peeress  was  conducted  by  two  gold  sticks, 
one  of  whom  handed  her  to  her  seat,  and  the  other  bore  and 
arranged  her  train  on  her  lap,  and  saw  that  her  coronet,  footstool, 
and  books  were  comfortably  placed. 

"About  nine  o'clock  the  first  gleams  of  the  sun  started  into  the 
Abbey,  and  presently  traveled  down  to  the  peeresses.  I  had  never 
before  seen  the  full  effect  of  diamonds.  As  the  light  traveled, 
each  lady  shone  out  as  a  rainbow.  The  brightness,  vastness,  and 
dreamy  magnificence  of  the  scene  produced  a  strange  effect  of 
exhaustion  and  sleepiness.  The  guns  told  when  the  Queen  set 
forth,  and  there  was  universal  animation.  The  gold  sticks  flitted 
about ;  there  was  tuning  in  the  orchestra ;  and  the  foreign  ambas- 
sadors and  their  suites  arrived  in  quick  succession.  At  half-past 
eleven  the  guns  told  that  the  Queen  had  arrived." 

After  robing  in  the  robing-room,  her  Majesty  entered  the 
Abbey  at  the  head  of  the  procession,  between  the  Bishops  of  Bath 


ACCESSION  AND  CORONATION  93 

and  Wells  and  Durham.  She  was  dressed  in  a  royal  robe  of  crim- 
son velvet,  trimmed  with  ermine  and  gold  lace.  Eight  young  ladies 
of  her  own  age,  peers'  daughters,  bore  her  train.  Behind  her  came 
the  procession  of  the  Regalia. 

Nothing  could  have  been  more  enthusiastic  than  the  cry  of 
"  God  save  the  Queen  ! "  that  was  raised  in  response  to  the  question 
which  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  proclaimed  in  ancient  formula  : 
"  Sirs,  I  here  present  unto  you  Queen  Victoria,  the  undoubted  Queen 
of  this  realm.  Wherefore,  all  of  you  who  are  come  this  day  to  do 
your  homage,  are  you  willing  to  do  the  same  ?" 

After  the  Litany  was  read,  her  Majesty  presented  a  splendid 
altar-cloth  and  an  ingot  of  gold.  These  with  the  insignia  of  royalty 
—sceptre,  dove,  orb,  spurs — were  placed  on  the  altar  ;  then  followed 
the  Communion  Service  and  a  sermon.  The  anointing  came  next, 
which  was  done  as  the  Queen  sat  in  King  Edward's  chair  under  a 
cloth  of  gold,  held  over  her  by  four  Knights  of  the  Garter.  Her 
head  and  hands  were  touched  with  oil  from  the  gold  ampulla  on  the 
altar,  and  these  words  pronounced  : 

"  Be  thou  anointed  with  holy  oil,  as  kings,  priests,  and 
prophets  were  anointed,"  etc. 

As  the  Queen  knelt  and  the  crown  was  placed  on  her  brow,  a  ray 
of  sunlight  fell  on  her  face,  and,  being  reflected  from  the  diamonds, 
made  a  kind  of  halo  round  her  head.  Simultaneously  the  peers 
and  peeresses  put  on  their  coronets  and  the  Abbey  became  resplen- 
dent with  the  glitter  of  gold  and  jewels.  At  the  same  time  the 
bishops  put  on  their  caps,  and  the  kings-at-arms  their  crowns ;  and 
outside  the  trumpets  sounded,  the  drums  beat,  and  volleys  were 
fired  from  the  guns  of  the  Tower  and  park.  The  orchestra  sent  its 
full  peal  rolling  through  the  aisles  of  the  Abbey,  and  acclamations 
broke  forth  from  every  side. 

When  the  acclamations  had  ceased,  the  Archbishop  cried 
aloud  :  "  Be  strong,  and  of  good  courage  ! "  to  which  an  anthem 
replied  :  "  The  Queen  shall  rejoice  in  Thy  strength,  O  Lord  !  " 
The  solemn  presentation  of  the  Bible,  the  choir  singing  the 


94.  ACCESSION  AND  CORONATION 

TeDeum,and  the  lifting  of  the  monarch  into  the  throne  of  homage, 
succeeded.  While  these  ceremonies  were  going  on,  gold  and  silver 
commemorative  medals  were  scattered  about  and  scrambled  for  by 
the  notables,  even  by  the  oldest  and  most  dignified. 

The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  the  Dukes  of  Wellington, 
Cambridge,  and  Sussex,  and  others,  did  homage  in  these  words  : 

"  I  do  become  your  liege  man  of  life  and  limb,  and  of  earthly 
worship  and  faith  and  truth  I  will  bear  unto  you  to  live  and  die 
against  all  manner  of  folk,  so  help  me  God." 

When  it  came  to  his  turn,  and  he  was  going  up  the  steps,  Lord 
Rolle  who  was  upwards  of  eighty,  stumbled  and  fell.  Her  Majesty 
thereupon  stepped  down,  and  held  out  her  hand  to  him — an  act  of 
gracious  thoughtfulness  during  a  trying  ordeal,  which  called  forth 
the  loudly-expressed  admiration  of  the  enormous  assembly.  This 
incident,  as  Miss  Martineau  tells  us,  led  to  the  grave  statement  from 
a  distinguished  foreigner  present,  that  the  Lords  Rolle  held  their  title 
on  the  condition  of  performing  the  feat  of  rolling  down  the  steps 
at  every  coronation. 

RECEIVING    THE    SACRAMENT 

After  the  Queen  had  received  the  Sacrament,  the  final  blessing 
was  given  and  the  choir  sang  the  anthem  :  "  Hallelujah  !  for  the 
Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigneth." 

But  the  Queen  had  her  troubles,  and  the  masters  of  ceremony 
made  their  blunders,  as  such  officials  everywhere  have  an  unhappy 
facility  in  doing.  Greville  tells  us  that : 

"  They  made  her  leave  her  chair  and  enter  St.  Edward's  Chapel 
before  the  prayers  were  concluded,  much  to  the  discomfiture  of  the 
Archbishop.  She  said  to  John  Thynne  (Rev.  Lord  Thynne,  who 
officiated  for  the  Dean  of  Westminster)  : 

41 '  Pray  tell  me  what  I  am  to  do,  for  they  don't  know.' 

"  And  when  the  orb  was  put  into  her  hand,  she  said  to  him : 

"  '  What  am  I  to  do  with  it  ? ' 

"  'Your  Majesty  is  to  carry  it,  if  you  please,  in  your  hand.' 

"  '  Am  I  ? '  she  said.     '  It  is  very  heavy  ? ' 


ACCESSION  AND  CORONATION  95 

"  The  ruby  ring  was  made  for  her  little  finger  instead  of  the 
fourth,  on  which  the  rubric  prescribes  that  it  should  be  put.  When 
the  Archbishop  was  putting  it  on,  she  extended  the  little  finger,  but 
he  asked  for  the  other.  She  said  it  was  too  small,  and  she  could  not 
put  it  on.  He  insisted,  and  she  yielded,  but  had  first  to  take  off  her 
other  rings,  and  then  this  was  forced  on  ;  but  it  hurt  her  very  much^ 
and  as  soon  as  the  ceremony  was  over,  she  was  obliged  to  bathe  her 
finger  in  iced  water  to  get  it  off." 

The  procession,  which  did  not  start  on  its  homeward  way  until 
four  o'clock,  was  even  more  attractive  to  sight-seers  than  in  the 
morning,  for  the  Queen  now  wore  her  crown,  and  the  peers  and 
peeresses  their  robes  and  jewelled  coronets.  On  alighting  at  Buck- 
ingham Palace,  she  heard  her  favorite  dog  barking.  She  cried  : 
"  There's  Dash  !"  and  forgot  crown  and  sceptre  in  her  girlish  eager- 
ness to  greet  her  small  friend. 

Although  the  State  coronation  banquet  was  dispensed  with,  the 
Queen  entertained  a  hundred  guests  at  dinner  that  evening,  and 
afterwards  went  on  the  roof  of  the  palace  to  see  the  fireworks. 


CHAPTER   V 

The    Betrothal    to    Prince    Albert 

THE  youthful  Queen  was  not  long  on  the  throne  before  an 
anxiety  for  her  marriage  arose  among  those  about  the 
Court.  England  had  been  ruled  by  one  maiden  Queen  and 
did  not  wish  another.  It  was  feared  that  she  might  fall  under  the 
influence  of  an  attractive  leader  of  one  or  the  other  political  party. 
She  dared  not  be  unguarded  in  conversing  with  anybody.  If  she 
confided  in  and  took  the  advice  of  her  Prime  Minister,  of  her  pri- 
vate secretary,  or  even  of  her  mother,  an  outcry  arose,  embittered 
by  envy  and  suspicion.  Without  any  fault  on  her  part,  but  through 
the  intrigues  of  interested  people,  the  Queen  was  at  this  time  un- 
popular with  many  persons.  It  seems  incredible  to  us  to  read  of 
her  being  hissed  in  public.  All  kinds  of  absurd  reports  were  circu- 
lated as  to  the  disposal  of  her  hand  ;  both  at  home  and  abroad  dan- 
gerous plots  were  being  formed  to  obtain  it.  One  foolish  per- 
son talked  of  deposing  the  all  but  infant  queen  and  putting  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland  on  the  throne,  a  remark  which  called  from 
the  bold  Daniel  O'Connell  the  following  indignant  reply :  "  If 
necessary,  I  can  get  five  hundred  brave  Irishmen  to  defend  the  life, 
the  honor,  and  the  person  of  the  beloved  young  lady  by  whom 
England's  throne  is  filled." 

HER    POSSIBLE    FUTURE    HUSBAND 

This  young  lady  had  a  mind  of  her  own,  as  she  had  more 
than  once  demonstrated,  and  thoughts  of  her  own  as  to  the  future. 
Far  off  in  Germany  was  a  young  cousin  who  had  long,  in  a  dim, 
shadowy  way,  been  looked  upon  as  her  possible  future  husband. 
About  three  months  after  the  little  "  Blossom  of  May  "  first  opened 


THE  QUEEN'S  ARRIVAL  IN  PEEL  PARK 
The  Children  of  the  Manchester  and  Salford  Schools  singing  the  National  Anthem. 


IHE    MUNICIPAL    DIGNITARIES  OK    PENRYN    INTRODUCED  TO  THE    YOUNG 
PRINCE  OF  WALES 


QUEEN  VICTORIA  IN  HER  ROBES  OF  STATE  ABOUT  1845 


THE  BETROTHAL  TO  PRINCE  ALBERT  & 

her  blue  eyes  in  Kensington  Palace,  this  youth,  a  son  of  the  Duke 
of  Saxe-Coburg  Saalfield,  was  born  at  the  Rosenau. 

The  Dowager-Duchess  of  Coburg,  grandmother  to  the  English 
baby  as  well  as  the  German,  seems  from  the  first  to  have  dreamt  of  a 
future  union.  When  he  was  two  years  old,  she  wrote  :  "  The  little 
fellow  is  the  pendant  to  the  pretty  cousin  (Princess  Victoria),  very 
handsome,  but  too  slight  for  a  boy;  lively,  very  funny;  all  good- 
nature and  mischief." 

The  little  fellow  had  an  imposing  list  of  names — Francis 
Charles  Augustus  Albert  Emmanuel.  Some  unhappy  family  diffi- 
culties deprived  him,  when  but  a  baby,  of  a  mother's  care;  but  his 
grandmother  became  and  continued  a  true  mother  to  him  and  to 
his  older  brother  Ernest.  He  was  carefully  educated — as  his  after 
career  in  England  amply  showed — fond  of  study,  particularly  natu- 
ral history.  His  own  and  his  brother's  collections  at  an  early  age 
actually  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  Ernest-Albert  Museum  of  Natu- 
ral History  now  at  Coburg.  He  was,  even  in  his  boyish  days,  a 
keen  and  ardent  sportsman. 

It  is  on  record  that,  when  but  three  years  old,  his  nurse — who, 
by  the  way,  had  nursed  Victoria — used  to  talk  to  him  of  "  his  little 
bride  in  England,  the  sweet  'May  Flower."  Many  letters  written 
by  his  grandmother  and  his  uncle,  Leopold  of  Belgium,  indicate 
that  the  same  desire  was  cherished  by  the  august  relations  of  the 
two  cousins.  King  Leopold  wrote  at  one  time  that  his  "  own  opin- 
ion was  that  no  prince  was  so  truly  qualified  to  make  his  niece 
(Victoria)  happy  as  her  Cousin  Albert,  or  to  fulfill  so  worthily  the 
difficult  duties  of  the  Consort  of  an  English  Queen." 

In  May,  1836,  the  cousins  met  during  a  brief  visit  paid  by  the 
Duke  of  Saxe-Coburg  and  his  two  sons  to  Kensington  Palace — 
though  it  seems  to  have  been  stipulated  that  the  object  of  their 
meeting  should  be  kept  secret  from  the  Princess  and  Prince,  in 
order  that  they  might  feel  perfectly  free  to  form  a  natural  and 
genuine  attachment.  One  may  easily  surmise,  however,  that  even 
as  the  nurse  had  spoken  such  thoughts  to  Prince  Albert,  so  others 


ioo  THE  BETROTHAL  TO  PRINCE  ALBERT 

had  installed  into  the  Princess's  mind  the  idea  that  her  cousin  was 
her  future  consort.  Indeed,  in  her  own  journal,  Her  Majesty 
plainly  states  that  if  she  ever  thought  of  anyone  at  all  as  her  future 
husband,  it  was  Cousin  Albert. 

There  are  pleasant  little  stories  told  of  the  cousins  at  Kensing- 
ton Palace,  the  little  Princess  riding  in  the  gardens  on  her  pony 
with  a  bright  young  lad  in  close  attendance.  Afterwards  on  her 
finger  was  frequently  seen  a  small  enamelled  ring,  containing  a  tiny 
diamond,  which  had  been  given  her  by  the  Saxon  cousin  as  a  part- 
ing gift ;  not,  as  some  impulsive  lady  readers  may  surmise,  an 
engagement  ring,  for  no  engagement  was  at  that  time  in  any  way 
suggested. 

On  the  Queen's  accession,  Prince  Albert  wrote  her,  congratu- 
lating her  on  becoming  Queen  of  the  mightiest  land  in  Europe,  and 
trusting  that,  in  her  new  dignity,  she  would  not  forget  her  little 
cousin  at  Bonn. 

The  Prince  was  present  at  the  Queen's  coronation  in  1838,  and 
rumor  said  that  he  was  engaged  to  Her  Majesty.  But  this  was  an 
error,  no  engagement,  formal  or  implied,  had  been  made,  and  she 
had  written  to  King  Leopold  to  say  that  she  would  not  think  of 
marriage  for  four  years  at  least.  Those  who  understood  the  diffi- 
culties of  her  position  better  than  she,  earnestly  pressed  upon  her 
the  advisability  of  a  marriage,  but  two  years  more  of  the  "  lonely 
elevation  of  a  throne  "  passed  before  she  could  be  brought  to  accept 
their  views. 

Leopold,  indeed,  paid  little  attention  to  her  statement.  He 
knew  what  resolutions  are  worth  when  love  steps  in,  and,  to  give 
Cupid  the  necessary  opportunity,  he  sent  Prince  Albert  again  to 
England.  As  before,  he  was  accompanied  by  his  brother,  the  two 
bearing  this  letter  of  introduction  from  the  King  : 

"Mv  DEAREST  VICTORIA, — Your  cousins  will  themselves  be  the  bearers  of 
these  lines.  I  recommend  them  to  you.  They  are  good  and  honest  creatures, 
leserving  your  kindness  ;  not  pedantic,  but  really  sensible  and  trustworthy.  I  have 
told  them  that  your  great  wish  is  that  they  should  be  quite  at  their  ease  with  you.  " 


THE  BETROTHAL  TO  PRINCE  ALBERT  101 

The  concluding  wish  had  quickly  to  be  realized,  for  notwithstand- 
ing the  solemn  etiquette  of  a  Court,  it  was  discovered  that  though 
the  princes  had  arrived  their  luggage  had  not ;  hence  they  could 
not  appear  at  dinner,  but  as  the  Queen  herself  records,  "  came  in 
after  it  in  spite  of  their  morning  clothes."  Leopold's  ruse  seemed 
likely  to  be  successful,  to  judge  from  a  letter  soon  afterwards 
received  from  his  royal  niece.  "Albert's  beauty  is  most  strik- 
ing," she  said,  "  and  he  is  most  amiable  and  unaffected  ;  in  short, 
very  fascinating."  Cupid  was  evidently  at  his  usual  work.  From 
all  that  appears,  a  very  happy  and  merry  time  seems  to  have  been 
spent  at  Windsor — all  serious  thoughts  of  love  or  marriage  were 
apparently  banished,  and  as  friends  and  cousins  they  were  "gay 
and  bright  together,  merry  and  light-hearted  from  morning  to 
evening,  riding  out  together  and  enjoying  themselves  very  much 
as  young  people  usually  do." 

SHE    RECEIVES    HER    COUSINS 

The  two  visitors  were  certainly  received  with  the  most  distin- 
guished attention.  Every  evening  there  was  a  formal  dinner,  and 
three  times  weekly  a  dance  succeeded  it.  The  Queen  now  put  off 
the  monarch,  and  was  the  woman  alone.  She  danced  with  Prince 
Albert,  and  showed  him  many  attentions  which  she  could  never 
show  to  others.  "  At  one  of  the  Castle  balls,  just  before  the  Queen 
declared  her  engagement  with  her  royal  cousin  to  her  Council,  she 
presented  his  Serene  Highness  with  her  bouquet.  This  flattering 
indication  of  her  favor  might  have  involved  a  less  quick-witted 
lover  in  an  awkward  dilemma,  for  his  uniform  jacket  was  fastened 
up  to  the  chin,  after  the  Prussian  fashion,  and  offered  no  button- 
hole wherein  to  place  the  precious  gift.  But  the  Prince,  in  the 
very  spirit  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  seized  a  penknife  and  immedi- 
ately slit  an  aperture  in  his  dress  next  to  his  heart,  and  there  trium- 
phantly deposited  the  royal  flowers." 

The  Queen,  upon  whom  it  was  incumbent  to  make  advances, 
lost  no  time  in  making  her  feelings  evident  "  How  do  you  like 


lu*  THE  BETROTHAL  TO  PRINCE  ALBERT 

England?"  she  asked  her  handsome  guest.  "Very  much,"  he 
replied.  The  following  day,  we  are  told,  the  question  and  answer 
were  repeated ;  and  then  the  Queen,  blushingly,  put  the  pointed 
query:  "If  your  Highness  is  so  much  pleased  with  this  country, 
perhaps  you  would  not  object  to  remaining  in  it,  and  making  it 
your  home?"  The  reply  does  not  need  to  be  stated;  no  one  can 
doubt  its  tenor. 

In  fact,  Albert  had  come  to  England  on  this  occasion  with  the 
distinct  purpose  of  seeking  to  win  his  cousin's  hand,  an  intention 
which  he  had  confided,  under  seal  of  the  strictest  confidence,  to  his 
friend  and  cousin,  Count  Albert  Mensdorff.  Where  both  were  so 
inclined  but  one  result  could  follow.  Just  how  it  came  about  is 
variously  related.  The  stories  that  have  come  down  from  the 
Court  annals  of  that  time  show  that  the  Queen  had  a  strong  senti- 
ment in  favor  of  the  young  man  who  had  come  to  woo  her.  "  The 
affair  had  been  hanging  on  for  weeks,"  said  a  Court  lady  to  a  private 
lady.  "The  Queen  never  seemed  able  to  say  the  final  word  that 
we  were  expecting." 

SHE  TELLS  ALBERT  OF  HER  LOVE 

Certainly,  from  what  we  have  said,  she  was  making  rapid 
approaches  to  this  final  word.  It  came  on  the  i5th  of  October  of 
the  year  with  which  we  are  now  concerned,  1839.  Albert  had  been 
out  hunting  with  his  brother,  and  returned  to  the  castle  about 
noon.  Half  an  hour  afterwards  he  received  word  that  the  Queen 
wished  to  see  him,  and  went  to  her  room,  where  he  found  her 
alone.  A  few  minutes'  conversation  on  indifferent  subjects  passed, 
then  the  young  Sovereign,  in  "a  genuine  burst  of  love,"  told  him  that 
he  had  won  her  heart,  and  would  make  her  very  happy,  if  he  would 
sacrifice  himself  and  share  her  life  with  her.  The  Prince  had  but 
one  answer  to  make.  With  the  warmest  demonstrations  of  affection 
he  expressed  his  glad  desire  to  "sacrifice"  himself  in  that  way. 

This  is  one  form  of  a  story  which  is  told  variously,  but  of 
which  all  that  is  actually  known  comes  from  her  own  words.  The 


THE  BETROTHAL  TO  PRINCE  ALBERT  103 

Duchess  of  Gloucester,  after  the  betrothal  had  been  announced  to 
her  family  and  the  Privy  Council,  asked  her  if  she  had  not  been 
very  nervous  in  making  her  declaration  to  this  august  body. 

"Yes,  indeed,"  answered  the  Queen;  "but  not  so  nervous  as 
I  was  a  fortnight  ago,  when  I  had  to  do  something  much  harder — 
propose  to  Prince  Albert." 

This  subject  is  also  unveiled  in  a  correspondence  between 
King  Leopold  and  Queen  Victoria.  The  King,  who,  as  we  have 
seen,  strongly  desired  a  marriage  between  the  two  cousins,  wrote 
to  her  at  about  the  time  the  engagement  took  place : 

"Albert  is  a  very  agreeable  companion.  His  manners  are  so  quiet  and 
harmonious  that  one  likes  to  have  him  near  one's  self.  I  always  found  him  so 
when  I  had  him  with  me,  and  I  think  his  travels  have  still  further  improved 
him.  He  is  full  of  talent  and  fun,  and  draws  cleverly."  Then  comes  a  very 
direct  hint  in  the  King's  letter  :  "  I  trust  that  Albert  may  be  able  to  strew  roses 
without  thorns  in  the  pathway  of  life  of  our  good  Victoria.  He  is  well  quali- 
fied to  do  so." 

The  following  letter  from  the  Queen  to  the  King,  written  a 
few  hours  after  the  interview,  while  not  a  direct  answer  to  the 
above,  not  then  received,  was  an  answer  in  effect : 

"  I  do  feel  so  guilty.  I  know  not  how  to  begin  my  letter,  but  I  think  the 
news  it  will  contain  will  be  sufficient  to  ensure  your  forgiveness.  Albert  has 
completely  won  my  heart,  and  all  was  settled  between  us  this  morning.  .  .  . 
I  feel  certain  he  will  make  me  very  happy.  I  wish  I  could  say  I  felt  as  certain 
of  making  him  happy ;  but  I  shall  do  my  best." 

In  another  letter  to  King  Leopold,  she  said  :  "  I  love  him  more 
than  I  can  say.  and  shall  do  everything  in  my  power  to  render  this 
sacrifice  (for  such  in  my  opinion,  it  is)  as  small  as  I  can.  ...  I 
am  so  bewildered  by  it  all  that  I  hardly  know  how  to  write ;  but  I 
do  feel  very  happy." 

At  the  same  time  the  Prince  acquainted  his  grandmother,  who 
was  similarly  interested  in  the  matter,  with  the  happy  news.  He 
wrote  as  follows  • 


104  THE  BETROTHAL  TO  PRINCE  ALBERT 

"  The  Queen  sent  for  me  to  her  room  and  disclosed  to  me,  in  a  genuine 
outburst  of  love  and  affection,  that  I  had  gained  her  whole  heart.  The  joyous 
openness  of  manner  in  which  she  told  me  of  this  quite  enchanted  me,  and  I 
was  quite  carried  away  with  it." 

The  Queen's  uncle  replied  in  these  noble  words : 

"  I  had,  when  I  learned  your  decision,  almost  the  feeling  of  old  Simeon, 
'  Now  lettest  Thou  Thy  servant  depart  in  peace.'  " 

How  shrewdly  the  King  had  gauged  the  Prince's  character 
and  the  difficulties  before  him  is  admirably  illustrated  in  the  history 
of  later  years,  when,  after  not  a  little  misconception  and  jealousy, 
the  Prince  Consort  won  for  himself  by  his  high  qualities  the 
nation's  love  and  respect. 

It  was  by  no  means  a  betrothal  for  "reasons  of  state,"  but  one 
arising  from  genuine  love  on  both  sides,  and  after  the  inevitable 
words  had  been  said  the  young  lovers  were  supremely  happy.  They 
had  many  tastes  and  sympathies  in  common.  The  Prince  had  con- 
siderable facility  as  an  artist,  and  still  more  as  a  composer.  The 
music  he  composed  to  the  songs  written  by  his  brother  was  beyond 
the  average  in  sweetness  of  melody,  and  some  of  his  sacred  com- 
positions, notably  the  tune  "  Gotha,"  were  of  a  high  order,  and 
found  their  way  into  the  psalmodies.  He  also  sang  well  and 
played  with  skill.  During  his  stay  at  Windsor  Castle  Victoria  fre- 
quently accompanied  him  on  the  pianoforte,  and  at  a  later  period 
they  often  sang  together  the  admired  productions  of  Rossini, 
Auber,  Balfe,  and  Moore.  Before  he  left  the  Castle,  his  engage- 
ment being  then  known,  the  Prince  drew  a  pencil  portrait  of  him- 
self, which  he  presented  to  the  Duchess  of  Kent. 

Albert  remained  for  a  month  at  Windsor,  and  we  hear  of  a 
beautiful  emerald  serpent  ring  which  he  presented  to  his  lady  love. 
He  returned  to  the  Continent  on  the  i4th  of  November.  After  so 
many  happy  weeks  the  Queen  felt  her  loneliness  very  much,  and 
she  spent  a  good  deal  of  her  time  in  playing  over  the  musical  com  ^ 
positions  which  she  and  her  lover  had  enjoyed  together.  She  had 


THE  BETROTHAL  TO  PRINCE  ALBERT  105 

also  another  reminder  of  him  in  the  shape  of  a  beautiful  miniature, 
which  she  wore  in  a  bracelet  on  her  arm  when  she  subsequently 
announced  her  intended  marriage  to  the  Privy  Council. 

The  Queen  had  more  than  one  trying  ordeal  before  her.  She 
left  Windsor  with  the  Duchess  of  Kent  on  the  2Oth  of  November 
for  Buckingham  Palace,  and  immediately  summoned  a  council  for 
the  23d. 

AN    EMBARRASSING    TASK 

Her  task  before  the  Council  was  an  embarrassing  one,  but  her 
courage,  as  she  tells  us,  was  inspired  by  the  sight  of  the  Prince's 
picture  in  her  bracelet.  "  Precisely  at  two  I  went  in,"  writes  the 
Queen  in  her  journal.  "The  room  was  full,  but  I  hardly  knew  who 
was  there.  Lord  Melbourne  I  saw  looking  kindly  at  me  with  tears 
in  his  eyes,  but  he  was  not  near  me.  I  then  read  my  short  declara- 
tion. I  felt  my  hands  shake,  but  I  did  not  make  one  mistake.  I 
felt  most  happy  and  thankful  when  it  was  over.  Lord  Lans- 
downe  then  rose,  and  in  the  name  of  the  Privy  Council  asked  that 
this  most  gracious  and  most  welcome  communication  might  be 
printed.  I  then  left  the  room,  the  whole  thing  not  lasting  above 
two  or  three  minutes.  The  Duke  of  Cambridge  came  into  the 
small  library  where  I  was  standing,  and  wished  me  joy." 

Greville  thus  describes  how  she  got  through  with  this  task  : 

' '  All  the  Privy  Councilors  had  seated  themselves,  when  the  folding-doors  were 
thrown  open,  and  the  Queen  came  in,  attired  in  a  plain  morning  gown,  but  wearing 
a  bracelet  containing  Prince  Albert's  picture  (the  Queen  tells  us  she  wore  it  to 
give  her  courage).  She  read  the  declaration  in  a  clear,  sonorous,  sweet-toned  voice, 
but  her  hands  trembled  so  excessively  that  I  wonder  she  was  able  to  read  the  paper 
which  she  held." 

The  Queen  had  also  to  undergo  the  ordeal  of  announcing  her 
intended  marriage  to  Parliament.  As  though  to  give  her  courage, 
enthusiastic  crowds  lined  the  route  when  she  went  to  do  so.  The 
House  of  Lords  thrilled  with  emotion  when  in  a  few  simple  words, 
uttered,  as  always,  very  clearly  and  sweetly,  her  Majesty  announced 
that  she  was  about  to  become  a  wife  Roth  Houses  expressed 


io6  THE  BETROTHAL  TO  PRINCE  ALBERT 

warm  sympathy,  Sir  Robert   Peel,  the  leader  of  the   Opposition^ 
claiming  the  right  to  join  with  the  government  in  its  felicitations. 

Still,  there  were  difficulties.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  com- 
plained in  Parliament  that  in  her  announcement  of  marriage  the 
Queen  had  not  described  the  Prince  as  a  Protestant.  It  was  explained 
that  the  word  was  considered  superfluous,  because  everyone  knew 
that  the  Coburg  family  was  Protestant,  and  that  a  British  Sovereign 
could  not  marry  a  Roman  Catholic.  True,  there  is  no  such  pro- 
hibition ;  but  as  Lord  Brougham  pointed  out,  there  is  a  penalty ; 
and  that  penalty  is  merely  the  forfeiture  of  the  crown  ! 

SUBJECT    OF    PRECEDENCE 

Much  difficulty  was  made  about  the  precedence  of  the  husband- 
to-be.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  said :  "  Let  the  Queen  put  the 
Prince  where  she  likes,  and  settle  it  herself ;  that  is  the  best  way." 
This  rough-and-ready  solution  not  being  approved  by  Parliament, 
the  Prince's  position  remained  undefined.  So  much  was  this  the 
case,  that  Lord  Albemarle  considered  that,  as  Master  of  the  Horse, 
he  himself,  and  not  the  Prince,  should  sit  in  the  Sovereign's  carriage 
on  state  occasions.  The  Iron  Duke  could  not  see  this,  and  said  : 
"  The  Queen  can  make  Lord  Albemarle  sit  on  the  top  of  the  coach, 
under  the  coach,  behind  the  coach,  or  wherever  else  her  Majesty 
pleases." 

The  formation  of  the  Prince's  household  was  another  bone  of 
contention.  Baron  Stockmar  came  to  England  to  arrange  this 
important  matter,  and  to  sign  the  marriage  contract.  In  spite,  how- 
ever, of  the  ability  of  his  representative  and  his  own  written  wishes, 
one  of  the  offices  was  filled  up  in  a  manner  that  caused  Prince  Albert 
anxiety  and  pain.  The  private  secretary  of  Lord  Melbourne  was 
appointed  his  private  secretary,  though  the  Prince  had  no  knowl- 
edge of  him,  and  though  the  appointment  might  prejudice  the 
Tories. 

The  Queen  was  vexed  at  the  grant  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons to  her  future  husband  being  only  ^30,000  a  year,  instead  of 


PRINCE  CONSORT 
By  F.  Wintrrha.ter 


PRINCE  ALBERT  STAG  HUNTING 
From  painting  by  Sir  Edwin   Landseer,  R.A 


ROYAL   SPORTS 

i  painting  by  Sir  Edwin    l.audse 


K.A 


THE  BETROTHAL  TO  PRINCE  ALBERT  109 

£50,000,  as  proposed.  The  Prince  was  also  mortified,  for  he  had 
been  dreaming  of  the  encouragement  which  the  larger  income 
would  have  enabled  him  to  give  to  men  of  arts  and  letters.  But 
though  he  could  not  conceal  this  from  the  Queen,  he  assured  her 
that  while  he  possessed  her  love  he  could  not  be  made  unhappy. 

And  thus,  with  scenes  of  love-making  and  scenes  of  diplomacy 
and  legislation,  the  time  went  on  towards  the  day  fixed  for  the 
ringing  of  the  happy  marriage  bells.  Obstacles,  as  we  have  seen, 
arose  in  their  path,  vexations  came  to  them,  but  these  were  simply 
clouds  in  the  path  of  the  sunlight  of  love,  which  shone  happily  on, 
through  and  in  spite  of  them  all. 


,  CHAPTER   VI 

Happy  Marriage  Bells 

THE  royal  marriage  was  fixed  for  the  loth  of  February,  1840, 
and  as  the  time  approached  there  was  an  active  bustle  of 
preparations  for  the  great  event.      It  is  interesting  to  find 
from  a  contemporary  writer  that  her  Majesty's  bridal  attire  was 
chiefly  of  home  manufacture.     The  pure  white  satin  for  the  wed- 
ding dress  was  made  in  Spitalfields,  while  the   Honiton  lace  with 
which  it  was  trimmed  (valued  at  ,£10,000,  nearly  $50,000)  was  made 
in  the  village  of  Beer,    near  Honiton,   and  gave    employment  to 
about  two  hundred  women  from  March  to  November.     The  lace 
veil  was  made  in  the  same  village. 

The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  too,  had  his  preparations  to 
make,  and  it  is  recorded  that  he  inquired  of  her  Majesty  how  the 
service  was  to  be  read,  particularly  with  respect  to  the  promise  "  to 
obey."  Her  answer  is  characteristic  of  her  true  woman's  heart : 
"  While  as  Queen  I  must  maintain  my  rights,  as  a  woman  I  am 
ready  to  fulfil  a  wife's  duties."  She  therefore  desired  the  marriage 
service  should  be  read  exactly  as  customary. 

Among  the  incidents  preceding  the  marriage  is  one  connected 
with  the  love  letters  which  flew  like  happy  birds  of  passage  between 
the  affianced  lovers,  whose  royal  position  did  not  prevent  their 
being  moved  by  feelings  like  those  of  common  mortals.  One  day 
a  gentleman  arrived  at  Windsor,  and  stated  that  he  had  an  im- 
portant letter  which  he  was  charged  to  deliver  to  her  Majesty  in 
person.  He  was  waited  on  by  several  great  officials,  and  the  letter 
demanded,  but  he  refused  to  deliver  it  to  any  one  but  the  Queen. 
Victoria,  however,  declined  to  see  him,  and,  as  he  still  insisted,  he 
was  in  the  end  handed  over  to  a  policeman,  who  took  the  lettef 

no 


HAPPY  MARRIAGE  BELLS  in 

from  him  by  force.  It  proved  that  he  was  a  clerk  of  the  post-office, 
who,  on  a  letter  from  Germany  coming  into  his  hands,  took  it  into 
his  head  to  try  by  its  means  to  gain  a  personal  interview  with  his 
Queen.  As  he  appeared  to  have  no  ulterior  design,  beyond  seeing 
and  speaking  to  the  Queen,  he  was  reprimanded  and  permitted  to 
return  to  his  duties. 

THE    ARRIVAL    OF    ALBERT 

Prince  Albert  reached  England  a  few  days  before  the  date 
fixed  for  the  ceremony,  and  was  received  with  much  enthusiasm  by 
the  people  of  the  several  places  which  he  had  to  traverse  on  his  way 
to  London.  He  was  escorted  by  Lord  Torrington  and  Colonel 
Grey,  who  had  been  sent  to  Coburg  for  the  purpose,  and  who  took 
with  them  the  Order  of  the  Garter,  with  which  the  Prince  was  in- 
vested with  much  ceremony.  From  Dover,  where  they  passed  the 
night  after  landing,  he  wrote  to  his  lady  love :  "  Now  I  am  once 
more  in  the  same  country  with  you  ;  what  a  delightful  thought ! 
It  will  be  hard  for  me  to  wait  till  to-morrow  evening." 

Albert  brought  with  him  the  Swiss  valet  who  had  been  with 
him  since  he  was  seven  years  of  age,  and  Eos,  his  favorite  grey- 
hound. These  were  not  bound  by  etiquette  and  previous  arrange- 
ment to  delay  their  appearance  until  the  8th,  and  were  sent  forward 
from  Canterbury.  The  Queen  speaks  in  her  journal  of  the  pleasure 
which  the  sight  of  "dear  Eos"  gave  her  the  evening  before  the 
arrival  of  her  betrothed.  In  connection  with  this  greyhound  may  be 
mentioned  a  boyish  prank  played  by  Albert  in  1839,  on  the  very 
eve  of  his  engagement.  The  carriage  having  stopped  in  a  little 
village  to  change  horses,  the  people  who  had  gathered  to  see  the 
Prince  had  to  content  themselves  with  the  long  muzzle  of  Eos, 
thrust  out  of  the  window,  the  Prince  stooping  so  that  he  could  not 
be  seen.  It  was  exactly  what  any  boy  who  loved  a  bit  of  fun 
might  have  done. 

At  Buckingham  Palace  on  Saturday,  February  8th,  Prince 
Albert  found  his  bride-elect  standing  at  the  outer  door  eager  to 


ii2  HAPPY  MARRIAGE  BELLS 

welcome  him,  with  the  whole  household  in  the  rear.  Half  an  hour 
after  his  arrival  the  Lord  Chamberlain  attended  to  administer  the 
oath  of  naturalization  ;  then  followed  a  grand  State  dinner.  At 
the  same  time  he  was  made  a  Field-Marshal  of  the  British  Army. 
On  the  following  day  he  visited  the  Queen  Dowager  (Adelaide) 
and  other  members  of  the  Royal  Family.  On  Monday  morning, 
the  wedding  day,  he  wrote  to  his  grandmother :  "  In  less  than  three 
hours  I  shall  stand  before  the  altar  with  my  dear  bride.  In  these 
solemn  moments  I  must  once  more  ask  your  blessing,  which  I  am 
well  assured  I  shall  receive,  and  which  will  be  my  safeguard  and  my 
future  joy.  I  must  end.  God  be  my  stay." 

The  marriage  took  place  in  the  Chapel  Royal,  St.  James'. 
The  Queen,  anxious  to  give  pleasure  to  her  people,  had  fixed  the 
hour  at  noon  instead  of  in  the  evening,  as  was  usual  with  royal 
marriages.  The  morning  of  the  happy  day  was  cold  and  rainy, 
but,  in  spite  of  this,  the  crowds  were  enormous.  The  royal  party 
and  great  officers  of  State  assembled  at  Buckingham  Palace,  and 
went  in  procession  to  the  chapel  in  St.  James'  Palace,  which  had 
been  splendidly  decorated.  The  Queen  "looked  extremely  pale  as 
she  passed  along,  crowned  with  nothing  but  those  flowers  which  are 
dedicated  to  the  day  of  bridal." 

THE    SPLENDID    CEREMONY 

Long  and  glowing  accounts  have  been  published  of  the 
splendid  ceremony,  the  magnificent  dresses,  the  flashing  jewels. 
We  give  a  brief  account  from  one  who  was  present : 

"  The  colonnade  within  the  Palace,  along  which  the  bridal  pro- 
cession had  to  pass  and  repass,  had  been  filled  since  early  morn  by 
the  tlitc  of  England's  rank  and  beauty.  Each  side  of  the  way  was 
a  parterre  of  white  robes,  white,  relieved  with  blue,  white  and 
green,  amber,  crimson,  purple,  fawn,  and  stone  color.  All  wore 
wedding  favors  of  lace,  orange-flower  blossoms,  or  silver  bullion, 
some  of  great  size,  and  many  in  most  exquisite  taste.  Most  of  the 
gentlemen  were  in  Court  dress,  and  the  scene,  during  the  patient 


HAPPY  MARRIAGE  BELLS  113 

hours  of  waiting,  was  made  picturesque  by  the  passing  to  and  fro, 
in  various  garbs,  of  burly  yeomen  of  the  guard,  armed  with  their 
massive  halberts  ;  slight-built  gentlemen-at-arms,  with  partisans  of 
equal  slightness  ;  elderly  pages  of  State  and  pretty  pages  of  honor; 
officers  of  the  Lord  Chamberlain  and  officers  of  the  Woods  and 
Forests ;  prelates  in  their  rochets  and  priests  in  their  stoles ;  and 
singing  boys  in  their  surplices  of  virgin  white." 

The  Queen  herself  was  dressed  in  pure  white  satin,  trimmed 
with  orange-flower  blossoms  and  the  Honiton  lace  I  have  already 
mentioned.  On  her  head  was  a  wreath  of  orange  blossoms,  sur- 
mounted by  the  bridal  veil.  Her  bridesmaids  numbered  twelve, — 
all  unmarried  daughters  of  peers,  and  conspicuous  amongst  her 
pages  was  "  Baby  Byng,"  a  merry  little  fellow,  said  to  be  only  five 
years  old.  Her  wedding  ring  was  of  plain  gold  :  according  to  her 
own  expressed  desire  that  it  should  be  "  an  ordinary  wedding 
ring." 

For  those  of  our  readers  who  care  to  read  the  details  of  a  cere- 
mony which  is  interesting  in  all  cases,  but  doubly  so  when  such  high 
personages  as  a  Prince  and  a  Queen  are  the  leading  actors,  we 
append  the  following  description  : 

At  twenty  minutes  past  twelve  a  flourish  of  trumpets  and 
drums  gave  notice  of  the  approach  of  the  royal  bridegroom,  and 
shortly  afterward  the  band  played  the  triumphant  strains  of  "  See, 
the  Conquering  Hero  Comes  !"  The  Prince  wore  a  Field-Marshal's 
uniform,  with  the  star  and  ribbon  of  the  Garter,  and  the  bridal 
favors  on  his  shoulders  heightened  his  picturesque  appearance. 
One  who  stood  near  him  thus  made  notes  of  his  person  : 

"  Prince  Albert  is  most  prepossessing.  His  features  are  regu- 
lar; his  hair  pale  auburn,  of  silken  glossy  quality;  eyebrows  well 
defined  and  thickly  set ;  eyes  blue  and  lively ;  nose  well  propor- 
tioned, handsome  mouth,  teeth  perfectly  beautiful,  small  mustaches, 
and  downy  complexion.  He  greatly  resembles  the  Queen,  save  that 
he  is  of  a  lighter  complexion  ;  still,  he  looks  as  though  neither  care 
nor  sorrow  had  ever  ruffled  or  cast  a  cloud  over  his  placid  and 

7 


IH  HAPPY  MARRIAGE  BELLS 

reflective  brow.  There  is  an  unmistakable  air  of  refinement  and 
rectitude  about  him,  and  every  year  will  add  intellectual  and  manly 
beauty  to  his  very  interesting  face  and  form." 

As  the  Prince  moved  along  he  was  greeted  with  loud  clapping 
of  hands  from  the  men  and  enthusiastic  waving  of  handkerchiefs 

o 

from  the  assembled  ladies.  In  his  hand  he  carried  a  Bible  bound 
in  green  velvet..  Over  his  shoulders  was  hung  the  collar  of  the 
Garter,  surmounted  by  two  white  rosettes.  On  his  left  knee  was 
the  Garter  itself,  which  was  of  the  most  costly  workmanship,  and 
literally  covered  with  diamonds. 

THE  BRIDEGROOM'S  PROCESSION 

When  the  bridegroom's  procession  reached  the  chapel  the 
drums  and  trumpets  filed  off  to  one  side,  and,  the  procession 
advancing,  his  Royal  Highness  was  conducted  to  the  seat  provided 
for  him  on  the  left  hand  of  the  altar.  At  half-past  twelve  the  drums 
and  trumpets  sounded  the  national  anthem  as  a  prelude  to  the 
arrival  of  the  bride.  Every  person  arose  as  the  doors  were  again 
opened,  and  the  royal  procession  came  in  with  solemn  steps  and 
slow.  The  spectacle  was  now  magnificent,  as  floods  of  sunshine 
streamed  through  the  windows  upon  the  many  gorgeous  costumes 
in  which  the  royal  and  distinguished  persons  who  appeared  in  the 
procession  were  attired.  The  Princesses  attracted  much  attention. 
First  came  the  Princess  Sophia  Matilda  of  Gloucester,  still  very 
beautiful,  and  dressed  in  lily-white  satin  ;  then  the  Princess  Augusta 
of  Cambridge,  in  pale  blue,  with  blush  roses  round  her  train  ;  next 
the  Duchess  of  Cambridge,  in  white  velvet,  leading  by  the  hand 
the  lovely  little  Princess  Mary,  who  was  dressed  in  white  satin  and 
swansdown,  the  mother  all  animation  and  smiles  at  the  applause 
which  greeted  her  child  ;  and  lastly  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  regal  in 
stature  and  dignity,  and  dressed  in  white  and  silver,  with  blue 
velvet  train.  The  Duke  of  Cambridge  and  the  Duke  of  Sussex 
succeeded,  the  latter  "looking  blithe  and  full  of  merry  conceits." 

Immediately  after  Lord  Melbourne,  who  carried  the  Sword  of 


HAPPY  MARRIAGE  BELLS  115 

State,  came  the  Queen  herself,  the  central  figure,  and  one  of  uni- 
versal interest.  She  looked  anxious  and  excited,  and  with  difficulty 
restrained  her  agitated  feelings.  Her  train  was  borne,  as  already 
stated,  by  twelve  young  ladies,  the  daughters  of  well-known  peers. 

The  bridesmaids,  like  their  royal  mistress,  were  attired  in  white. 
Their  dresses  were  composed  of  delicate  net,  trimmed  with  festoons 
of  white  roses  over  slips  of  rich  gros  de  Naples  with  garlands  of 
white  roses  over  the  head.  The  Duchess  of  Sutherland  walked 
next  to  the  Queen,  and  the  ladies  of  the  bedchamber  and  the  maids 
of  honor  closed  the  bride's  procession. 

The  Chapel  Royal  was  specially  prepared  and  decorated  for 
the  ceremony.  The  altar  and  haul  pas  had  a  splendid  appearance, 
the  whole  being  lined  with  crimson  velvet.  The  wall  above  the 
communion-table  was  hung  with  rich  festoons  of  crimson  velvet 
edged  with  gold  lace.  The  Gothic  pillars  supporting  the  gal- 
leries were  gilt,  as  were  the  moldings  of  the  oaken  panels,  and 
the  Gothic  railing  round  the  communion-table.  The  communion- 
table itself  was  a  rich  profusion  of  gold  plate.  The  entire  floor  was 
covered  with  a  blue  and  gold  pattern  carpet,  with  the  Norman  rose. 
The  whole  of  the  remaining  part  of  the  interior  was  decorated ; 
and  the  ceiling  adorned  with  the  arms  of  Great  Britain  in  various 
colored  devices. 

The  entire  service  was  precisely  that  of  the  Church  liturgy, 
the  simple  names  of  "  Albert "  and  "  Victoria  "  being  used.  To 
the  usual  questions  Prince  Albert  answered  firmly  "  I  will,"  and  the 
Queen — in  accents  which,  though  full  of  softness  and  music,  were 
audible  at  the  most  extreme  corner  of  the  chapel — gave  the  same 
answer. 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  service,  the  Duke  of  Sussex,  who 
had  given  her  away,  kissed  his  niece,  the  bride,  and  she  walked 
across  and  affectionately  embraced  the  Queen  Dowager.  She  then 
shook  hands  cordially  with  the  various  members  of  the  royal 
family,  who  now  took  up  their  positions  in  the  procession  as 
arranged  for  the  return. 


n$  HAPPY  MARRIAGE  BELLS 

The  procession,  being  formed,  left  the  chapel  much  in  the 
same  order  as  it  had  entered.  But  her  Majesty  and  her  newly- 
wedded  consort  now  walked  together  hand-in-hand,  ungloved- 
Prince  Albert  with  sparkling  eyes  and  a  heightened  color  smiling 
down  upon  the  Queen,  and  she  appearing  very  bright  anc' 
animated. 

SIGNING    OF   THE    MARRIAGE    REGISTER 

The  signing  of  the  marriage  register  was  the  next  thing  to  be 
performed.  It  is  always  an  important  part  in  the  marriage  cere- 
mony. Among  those  who  signed  it  was  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
who  had  also  signed  the  register  of  the  Queen's  birth.  That  great 
soldier  told  the  following  to  a  friend.  It  is  worth  quoting,  as  it 
shows  a  pathetic  desire  on  the  part  of  the  very  new  bride  to  honor 
her  husband  :  "  When  we  proceeded  to  the  signatures,  the  King  of 
Hanover  was  very  anxious  to  sign  before  Prince  Albert ;  and  when 
the  Queen  approached  the  table,  he  placed  himself  by  her  side, 
watching  his  opportunity.  She  knew  very  well  what  he  was  about, 
and  just  as  the  Archbishop  was  giving  her  the  pen,  she  suddenly 
dodged  round  the  table,  placed  herself  next  to  the  Prince,  then 
quickly  took  the  pen  from  the  Archbishop,  signed,  and  gave  it  to 
Prince  Albert,  who  also  signed  next,  before  it  could  be  prevented." 

Lady  Lyttelton,  one  of  the  ladies-in-waiting,  says  : 

"The  Queen's  look  and  manner  were  very  pleasing,  her  eyes 
much  swollen  with  tears,  but  great  happiness  in  her  countenance, 
and  her  look  of  confidence  and  comfort,  when  they  walked  away  as 
man  and  wife,  was  very  pleasing  to  see.  I  understand  she  is  in 
extremely  high  spirits  since.  Such  a  new  thing  for  her  to  dare  to 
be  unguarded  in  conversing  with  anybody ;  and  with  her  frank  and 
fearless  nature,  the  restraints  she  has  hitherto  been  under,  from  one 
reason  or  another,  with  everybody,  must  have  been  most  painful." 

Another  account  mentions  a  rather  pretty  incident.  As  the 
newly-wedded  couple  were  returning  in  their  carriage  from  the 
church  to  the  palace,  the  Prince  held  her  hand  in  his,  but  in  such 
a  way  as  to  leave  the  wedding-ring  visible  to  the  assembled  crowd. 


HAPPY  MARRIAGE  BELLS  117 

Great  good-humor  prevailed  amongst  the  masses  of  self-invited 
wedding  guests  in  the  streets,  and  there  were  many  amusing  inci- 
dents, one  being  that  the  band  of  the  guards  as  they  marched  past 
played  "  Haste  to  the  Wedding." 

On  the  way  back  the  bride  was  no  longer  pale,  but  had  a  glow 
of  happiness  on  her  cheek  and  an  expression  of  confidence  and 
comfort  in  her  eyes.  The  sun  shone  out,  and  there  was  real  "  Queen's 
weather"  the  rest  of  the  day.  The  cheers  of  the  people  could  not 
but  give  her  high  pleasure,  and  she  bowed  repeatedly  and  graciously 
smiled  as  the  carriage  passed  onward  through  her  host  of  joyful 
subjects.  All  the  way  to  St.  James'  Palace  enthusiastic  acclamations 
filled  the  air,  and  everywhere  was  the  waving  of  brides'  favors  and 
snowy  handkerchiefs. 

THE    WEDDING    BREAKFAST 

The  wedding  was  of  course  followed  by  a  wedding  breakfast, 
at  which  appeared  the  most  marvelous  wedding  cake  ever  seen. 
More  than  nine  feet  in  circumference,  and  sixteen  inches  deep,  it 
was  elaborately  constructed,  with  strange  and  curious  designs  in 
snow-white  frosted  sugar.  It  was  valued  at  one  hundred  guineas, 
and  required  four  men  to  lift  it  on  to  the  table,  being  three  hundred 
pounds  in  weight.  On  the  top  was  Britannia  blessing  the  royal 
couple,  the  figures  nearly  a  foot  high,  and  among  the  other  orna- 
ments was  a  cupid  with  a  volume  spread  open  upon  his  knees,  in 
which  he  wrote  "  loth  of  February,  1840."  All  around  and  over 
the  cake  were  wreaths  and  festoons  of  orange  blossoms  and  myrtle, 
entwined  with  roses. 

Each  of  the  bridesmaids  received  a  magnificent  brooch  the  gift 
of  the  bride.  Each  of  these  was  in  the  shape  of  a  bird,  the  body 
being  formed  of  turquoises,  the  eyes  of  rubies,  and  a  diamond  for 
the  beak.  The  claws  were  of  pure  gold  and  rested  on  large  and 
valuable  pearls.  The  design  was  furnished  by  the  Queen,  and  the 
workmanship  was  exquisite. 

After  the  wedding  breakfast  the  happy  pair  drove  down  to 
Windsor  through  twenty-two  miles  of  spectators,  and  innumerable 


n8  HAPPY  MARRIAGE  BELLS 

"  V.'s"  and  "A.'s,"  and  other  decorations.  The  illuminations  were 
lit  when  they  reached  the  royal  borough,  and  the  Eton  boys 
"cheered  and  shouted  as  only  schoolboys  can."  The  Queen's  tra- 
veling dress  was  of  white  satin  trimmed  with  swans-down.  Eton 
College  presented  one  of  the  finest  spectacles  on  the  route.  Oppo- 
site to  the  college  was  a  representation  of  the  Parthenon  at 
Athens,  which  was  brilliantly  illuminated  by  several  thousand  vari- 
egated lamps ;  it  was  surmounted  by  flags  and  banners,  and  under 
the  royal  arms  was  displayed  the  following  motto:  ^Gratulatus 
Etona  Victoria  et  Alberto"  Beneath  the  clock  tower  of  the  college 
there  was  a  blaze  of  light,  and  a  number  of  appropriate  devices 
were  displayed  in  various  colored  lamps.  A  triumphal  arch,  com- 
posed of  evergreens  and  lamps  tastefully  displayed,  extended  across 
the  road.  The  Etonians,  wearing  white  favors,  were  marshaled  in 
front  of  the  college.  They  received  the  Queen  with  loud  acclama- 
tions, and  escorted  her  to  the  Castle  gates. 

ARRIVAL    AT    WINDSOR 

By  the  time  Windsor  was  reached  the  shades  of  evening  had 
gathered.  The  whole  town  could  be  perceived  therefore  brilliantly 
illuminated  before  the  royal  carriage  entered  it.  A  splendid  effect 
was  created  by  the  dazzling  lights  as  they  played  upon  the  faces  of 
the  multitude.  The  crowd  on  the  Castle  hill  was  so  dense  at  half- 
past  six  that  it  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  a  line  was  kept  clear 
for  the  royal  carriages.  The  whole  street  was  one  living  mass, 
whilst  the  walls  of  the  houses  glowed  with  crowns,  stars,  and  all  the 
brilliant  devices  which  gas  and  oil  could  supply.  At  this  moment 
a  flight  of  rockets  was  visible  in  the  air,  and  it  was  immediately 
concluded  that  the  Queen  had  entered  Eton.  The  bells  now  rang 
merrily,  and  the  shouts  of  the  spectators  were  heard  as  the  royal 
cortege  approached  the  Castle. 

At  twenty  minutes  before  seven  the  carriage  arrived  in  High 
Street,  Windsor,  preceded  by  the  advance  guard  of  the  traveling 
escort.  The  shouts  were  now  loud  and  continuous,  and  from  the 


HAPPY  MARRIAGE  BELLS  119 

windows  and  balconies  of  the  houses  handkerchiefs  were  waved  by 
the  ladies,  whilst  the  gentlemen  huzzaed  and  waved  their  hats. 
Owing  to  the  crowd,  they  proceeded  slowly,  the  Queen  and  her 
royal  consort  bowing  to  the  people.  She  looked  remarkably  well, 
and  Prince  Albert  seemed  in  the  highest  spirits  at  the  cordiality 
with  which  he  was  greeted.  When  the  carriage  drew  up  at  the. 
grand  entrance  the  Queen  was  handed  from  it  by  the  Prince,  and 
immediately  took  his  arm  and  entered  the  Castle. 

A  splendid  State  banquet  in  celebration  of  the  wedding  was 
given  at  St.  James'  Palace  in  the  grand  banqueting-room.  Ail  over 
England  that  day  and  night  people  held  high  festival.  There  was 
free  admission  to  places  of  amusement,  and  the  poor  were  feasted. 

Then  followed  a  very  brief  honeymoon,  the  happy  days  spent 
quietly  at  Windsor — as  quietly,  that  is,  as  the  loyalty  and  enthusi- 
asm of  the  people  would  permit.  On  the  I2th  they  were  joined  by 
the  bridegroom's  father,  the  bride's  mother,  and  all  the  people  of 
the  Court.  The  Duke  of  Coburg  returned  home  after  a  fortnight's 
visit,  and  his  son  felt  severely  this  virtually  final  separation.  "  He 
told  me,"  the  Queen  wrote,  "  that  if  I  continued  to  love  him  as  I 
did  now,  I  could  make  up  for  all.  .  .  .  What  is  in  my  power  to 
make  him  happy  I  will  do." 

After  the  brief  period  named  the  newly-married  people  re- 
turned to  London,  and  continued  the  work  of  acting  chief  parts  in 
State  ceremonials.  There  never  was  so  gay  a  season.  Balls,  din- 
ners, and  drawing-rooms  followed  in  quick  succession,  and  congrat- 
ulatory addresses  fell  in  showers. 

The  events  just  described  were  made  the  text  of  a  poem  by 
Elizabeth  BarrettBrowning,  which  is  well  worth  giving  as  a  fitting 
poetical  tribute  to  the  happy  occasion  : 

"  But  now  before  her  people's  face  she  bendeth  hers  anew, 
And  calls  them,  while  she  vows,  to  be  her  witness  thereunto. 
She  vowed  to  rule,  and  in  that  oath  her  childhood  put  away, 
She  doth  maintain  her  womanhood  in  vowing  love  to-day. 
O  lovely  lady  !  let  her  vow  '  such  lips  become  such  vows, 


120  HAPPY  MARRIAGE  BELLS 

And  fairer  goeth  bridal  wreath  than  crown  with  vernal  brows. 

O  lovely  lady  !  let  her  vow  !  yea,  let  her  vow  to  love  ! 

And  though  she  be  no  less  a  Queen,  with  purples  hung  above, 

The  pageant  of  a  court  behind,  the  royal  kin  around, 

And  woven  gold  to  catch  her  looks  turned  maidenly  to  ground  ; 

Yet  may  the  bride-veil  hide  from  her  a  little  of  that  state, 

While  loving  hopes  of  retinues  about  her  sweetness  wait. 

She  vows  to  love  who  vowed  to  rule  (the  chosen  at  her  side), 

Let  none  say,  God  preserve  the  Queen  !  but  rather,  Bless  the  Bride  ! 

None  blow  the  trump,  none  bend  the  knee,  none  violate  the  dream, 

Wherein  no  monarch,  but  a  wife,  she  to  herself  may  seem. 

Or,  if  ye  say,  Preserve  the  Queen  !  oh,  breathe  it  inward  low — 

She  is  a  woman,  and  beloved !  and  'tis  enough  but  so. 

Count  it  enough,  thou  noble  Prince,  who  tak'st  her  by  the  hand, 

And  claimest  for  thy  lady-love  our  lady  of  the  land ! 

And  since,  Prince  Albert,  men  have  called  thy  spirit  high  and  rare, 

And  true  to  truth,  and  brave  for  truth,  as  some  at  Augsburg  were, 

We  charge  thee  by  thy  lofty  thoughts,  and  by  thy  poet-mind, 

Which  not  by  glory  and  degree  takes  measures  of  mankind, 

Esteem  that  wedded  hand  less  dear  for  sceptre  than  for  ring, 

And  hold  her  uncrowned  womanhood  to  be  the  royal  thing. 

And  now  upon  our  Queen's  last  vow  what  blessings  shall  we  pray  ? 
None  straitened  to  a  shallow  crown  will  suit  our  lips  to-day  : 
Behold,  they  must  be  free  as  love,  they  must  be  broad  as  free, 
Even  to  the  borders  of  heaven's  light  and  earth's  humanity. 
L,ong  live  she  !  send  up  loyal  shouts,  and  true  hearts  pray  between 
'The  blessings  happy  peasants  have,  be  thine,  O  crowned  Queen  /  '  '* 


CHAPTER  VII 

Pleasures  and   Pains  of  Royalty 

WE   have  followed  the   Prince  and  Queen  through  their  era 
of  betrothal  and  marriage.      It  seems  in  place  now  to  say 
something  concerning  their  life  as  a  newly-married  couple, 
before  speaking  of  the  various  unpleasant  circumstances  incident 
to  their  exalted  position.     The   bride   and  groom  were  not  only 
happy  in  their  mutual  love,  but  also  in  the  similarity  of  their  tastes. 
How  thoroughly  this  was   the  case   may  be  seen  by  the  following 
description  of  the  daily  routine  of  their  lives : — 

' '  They  breakfasted  at  nine,  and  took  a  walk  every  morning  soon  after- 
wards. Then  came  the  usual  amount  of  business  (far  less  heavy,  however, 
than  now),  besides  which,  they  drew  and  etched  a  great  deal  together,  which 
was  a  source  of  great  amusement,  having  the  plates  '  bit '  in  the  house. 
Luncheon  followed  at  the  usual  hour  of  two  o'clock.  Lord  Melbourne  (the 
Prime  Minister  at  the  time)  came  to  the  Queen  in  the  afternoon,  and  between 
five  and  six  the  Prince  generally  drove  her  out  in  a  pony  phaeton.  If  the 
Prince  did  not  drive  the  Queen,  he  rode,  in  which  case  she  took  a  drive  with 
the  Duchess  of  Kent  or  the  ladies.  The  Prince  also  read  aloud  most  days  to 
the  Queen.  The  dinner  was  at  eight  o'clock,  and  always  with  company. 
.  The  hours  were  never  late,  and  it  was  very  seldom  that  the  party  had 
not  broken  up  at  eleven  o'clock." 

Frequently  the  amusement  of  the  royal  pair  was  music.  Of 
this  a  lady-in-waiting  thus  writes  : — 

' '  We  had  another  charming  evening  with  the  Queen  and  Prince  last  night 
in  their  private  apartment,  and  played  till  eleven  o'clock.  These  practices 
must  be  very  improving ;  and  it  is  fortunate  that  Matilda  Paget  and  I  read 
music  with  facility,  for  we  generally  have  to  play  overtures  and  classical 
pieces  at  sight.  Last  night  we  played  Beethoven's  '  Septuor,'  and  the  Queen 
observed  that  it  was  quite  a  relief  to  find,  when  we  came  to  the  last  bar,  that 
we  were  all  playing  together,  for  had  any  of  us  gone  wrong  it  would  have  been 

121 


122  PLEASURES  AND  PAINS  OF  ROYALTY 

rather  difficult  to  find  one's  place  again.  I  enjoy  nothing  so  much  as  seeing 
the  Queen  in  that  nice  quiet  way  ;  and  I  often  wish  that  those  who  don't  know 
her  Majesty  could  see  how  kind  afed  gracious  she  is  when  she  is  perfectly  at 
her  ease,  and  able  to  throw  off  the  restraint  and  form  which  must  and  ought 
to  be  observed  when  she  is  in  public." 

The   same  lady,  after  describing  their  round  games  and  their 
playing  cards  for   new   pence  and  the   smallest  silver  coins,  adds  : 
'It  always  entertains  me    to  see  the  little  things  that  amuse  her 
Majesty  and  the  Prince." 

THEY    WERE    AN    EXAMPLE 

The  Prince,  in  order  to  arouse  an  interest  in  fresco-painting, 
employed  distinguished  artists  to  decorate  in  this  way  a  pavilion  in 
the  gardens  of  Buckingham  Palace.  He  and  the  Queen  watched 
the  progress  of  the  work  with  great  interest,  and  this  is  the  impres- 
sion which  they  made  on  Mr.  Uwins,  one  of  the  most  gifted  of  the 
artists  engaged.  He  wrote  in  a  letter  :  "  History,  literature,  science, 
and  art  seem  to  have  lent  their  stores  to  form  the  mind  of  the 
Prince.  .  .  .  The  Queen,  too,  is  full  of  intelligence,  her  obser- 
vations very  acute,  and  her.  judgment  apparently  matured  beyond 
her  age.  .  .  .  Coming  to  us  twice  a  day,  unannounced  and 
without  attendants,  courting  conversation,  and  desiring  reason 
rather  than  obedience,  they  have  gained  our  admiration  and  love. 
In  many  things  they  are  an  example  to  the  age." 

The  following  small  incident  illustrates  this  last  assertion 
about  example.  A  lady  asked  a  nobleman  who  was  dining  at  the 
Queen's  table  to  take  wine  with  her.  Being  a  total  abstainer,  his 
lordship  had  to  decline.  Upon  this  the  lady  turned  to  the  Queen, 

and  said  :  "  Please,  your  Majesty,  here  is  Lord ,  who  declines 

to  take  wine  at  your  Majesty's  table."  Smiling  graciously,  the 
Queen  replied:  "There  is  no  compulsion  at  my  table." 

As  might  be  expected  from  their  artistic  tastes,  the  royal 
couple  were  fond  of  visiting  studios.  One  of  the  painters  thus 
honored  had  a  son  who  seems  to  have  been  an  enfant  terrible. 


PLEASURES  AND  PAINS  OF  ROYALTY  123 

This  boy,  having  undertaken  to  be  cicerone  to  his  father's  work, 
pointed  out  to  her  Majesty  that  the  elves  were  likenesses  of  him- 
self and  a  brother  ;  "  only,  you  know,  we  don't  go  about  without 
clothes  at  home,"  he  volunteered  the  confidential  explanation.  The 
same  child  horrified  an  attentive  audience  by  declining  to  receive  a 
gracious  advance  made  to  him  by  the  Queen,  asserting  with  the 
utmost  candor :  "  I  don't  like  you." 

"  But  why  don't  you  like  me,  my  boy?"  inquired  her  Majesty. 

"  Because  you  are  the  Queen  of  England,  and  you  killed 
Queen  Mary." 

Her  Majesty  laughed  heartily,  and  corrected  the  anachronism. 

The  happiness  of  their  home  life  was  marred  by  an  accident 
which  might  have  proved  disastrous.  The  Queen,  looking  from 
her  window,  saw  Prince  Albert  carried  at  a  headlong  pace  through 
the  park,  his  horse  having  been  in  some  way  frightened  and  taken 
the  bit  between  his  teeth.  She  did  not  see  the  result.  The  scared 
animal  dashed  among  the  trees,  and  the  Prince  was  swept  from  his 
saddle  by  a  bough  and  flung  heavily  to  the  ground.  Happily,  no 
harm  came  to  him  except  bruises  to  his  hip  and  knee.  Sending  a 
messenger  to  tell  his  anxious  wife  of  his  safety,  he  mounted  a  fresh 
horse  and  rode  on  to  the  hunt. 

A  peril  of  a  different  kind  threatened  the  Queen.  On  the  loth 
of  the  June  after  her  marriage,  while  driving  in  Hyde  Park  before 
dinner,  she  was  deliberately  fired  at  by  a  pot-boy  seventeen  years 
old,  called  Oxford.  Her  Majesty  was  looking  another  way,  and 
did  not  understand  what  the  ringing  scyand  in  her  ears  meant.  The 
carriage  stopped,  but  the  Prince  ordered  the  postillions  to  drive  on. 
"  I  seized  Victoria's  hands,"  he  wrote  afterwards,  "  and  asked  if  the 
fright  had  not  shaken  her,  but  she  laughed."  Both  the  Queen  and 
Prince  now  saw  the  youth  standing  in  a  theatrical  attitude,  a  pistol 
in  each  hand.  "  I  have  got  another ! ':  he  exclaimed,  and  imme- 
diately discharged  a  second  pistol.  The  Prince  had  drawn  his  wife 
down  beside  him,  and  the  ball  passed  over  her  head.  The  Queen 
stood  up  to  show  her  subjects  that  she  was  not  hurt,  and  then,  still 


i24  PLEASURES  AND  PAINS  OF  ROYALTY 

thoughtful  for  others,  drove  to  Belgrave  Square,  to  tell  her  mothe; 
about  it  before  exaggerated  reports  could  reach  her. 

When  the  royal  pair  returned  to  the  Park,  they  found  that  all  the 
lady  and  gentlemen  riders  on  the  drive-way  had  formed  themselves 
into  a  guard  to  escort  them  home  ;  and  this  was  done  by  an  equally 
large  number  of  volunteers  for  several  days  afterwards.  The 
Queen  was  much  touched  by  the  enthusiasm  of  the  crowds.  She 
smiled  and  bowed,  but  when  she  reached  her  own  apartments  she 
burst  into  tears.  At  all  the  theatres  that  night  "  God  Save  the 
Queen  "  was  sung,  and  when  next  her  Majesty  attended  the  Opera 
the  whole  house  rose,  cheered,  and  waved  hats  and  handkerchiefs. 
The  Lords  and  Commons,  in  full  dress,  presented  an  address  of 
congratulation,  which  the  Queen  received  sitting  on  her  throne. 
Oxford  was  confined  in  Bedlam  Asylum,  and  afterwards  allowed  to 
go  to  Australia. 

SMALL    ANNOYANCES 

Aside  from  these  dangers,  there  were  annoyances  of  a  minor 
kind  which  ruffled  the  smooth  sea  of  their  happiness.  The  office  of 
secretary  had  since  the  Queen's  accession  been  discharged  by  Baron- 
ess Lehzen,  the  Queen's  former  governess,  and  this  invested  her 
with  powers  which,  however  discreetly  used,  were  calculated  to 
bring  her  into  collision  with  the  natural  head  of  the  house.  Eventu- 
ally the  Prince  practically  assumed  this  duty  and  became  the  private 
secretary  to  his  wife.  All  he  desired,  as  he  told  his  father,  was 
"to  be  of  use  to  Victoria."  He  was  an  early  riser,  and  before 
breakfast  got  through  his  ov\ui  large  correspondence  or  prepared  for 
her  Majesty's  consideration  drafts  of  answers  to  her  Minister.  He 
would  say  :  "  Here  is  a  draft  I  have  made  for  you  ;  read  it.  I 
should  think  this  would  do." 

His  wife  did  all  in  her  power  to  make  his  position,  which  had 
never  been  properly  defined,  less  difficult,  but  the  fact  remained 
that  he  could  exercise  no  authority  even  in  his  own  household  with- 
out trenching  upon  the  privileges  of  others.  He  felt,  as  he  said 
himself,  that  he  was  only  a  husband,  and  not  a  master. 


PLEASURES  AND  PAINS  OF  ROYALTY  125 

An  anecdote  of  this  period  is  worth  relating,  as  illustrating  the 
punctuality  which  was  always  a  marked  characteristic  of  her 
Majesty.  Punctual  herself,  she  expected  that  others  should  be 
punctual  also.  A  noble  lady  who  had  accepted  an  appointment  in 
close  personal  attendance  on  the  Queen,  was  a  little  late  on  arriving 
at  her  post.  Nothing  was  said  on  this  occasion,  but  on  the  follow- 
ing morning,  being  again  late,  she  found  her  royal  mistress  sitting, 
watch  in  hand,  and  regarding  her  in  a  reproachful  manner. 

"  I  fear  I  have  unfortunately  been  the  occasion  of  detaining 
your  Majesty,"  was  her  apology. 

"Yes,"  was  the  response,  "full  ten  minutes;  and  I  beg  of  you 
to  avoid  such  a  want  of  punctuality  in  the  future." 

The  lady  in  question  was  much  agitated  by  the  reproof  re- 
ceived. Her  fingers  trembled,  and  as  she  was  endeavoring  to 
adjust  the  Queen's  shawl,  she  made  a  slip  again  and  again.  The 
Queen  in  a  kindly  way  assisted  her,  and  to  put  her  at  ease  said : 

"  We  shall  all  be  more  perfect  in  our  duties  by-and-by." 

DISTURBING    QUESTIONS 

Leaving  for  the  present  these  personal  concerns,  we  may  say 
something  here  of  the  affairs  of  state  with  which  the  new  monarch 
was  so  intimately  concerned.  Some  of  these  we  shall  treat  more  at 
length  in  other  chapters.  She  had  hardly  succeeded  to  the  throne 
when  disturbing  questions  arose.  In  1838  the  Chartists  gave  signs 
of  increasing  activity ;  impatience  and  dissatisfaction  (not  at  all 
with  the  Queen,  but  with  laws  and  government)  were  manifested, 
tumultuous  gatherings  of  fiery  agitators  were  held,  and  savage  de- 
nunciations of  society  in  general  were  heard.  Towards  the  end  of 
1838  one  of  the  Chartist  leaders  was  arrested,  and  riots  broke  out 
in  Birmingham  and  elsewhere.  In  1839  "A  National  Convention," 
held  in  London,  sent  a  Chartist  petition,  signed  by  over  a  million 
persons,  to  the  House  of  Commons.  Fresh  riots  in  Birmingham, 
Newport,  and  other  places  followed  its  rejection. 


126  PLEASURES  AND  PAINS  OF  ROYALTY 

While  none  of  these  movements  directly  concerned  the  Queen 
and  none  of  them  were  directed  against  her,  they  added  not  a  little 
to  the  perplexities  and  difficulties  of  her  position. 

In  1839  a  Party  difficulty  arose,  in  which  she  was  closely  con- 
cerned. A  hostile  vote  in  the  House  of  Commons  induced  Lord 
Melbourne  to  resign.  Having  been  Prime  Minister  at  and  since 
her  accession,  the  young  Queen  had  learned  to  trust  and  respect 
him.  She  was  as  yet  inexperienced  in  constitutional  ways,  and 
had  not  learned  the  necessity  of  keeping  neutral  in  regard  to  party 
matters.  She  therefore  openly  expressed  her  regret  at  parting 
with  the  Prime  Minister  to  whom  she  was  attached. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington,  whose  advice  she  asked,  counseled 
her  to  send  for  Sir  Robert  Peel,  the  leader  of  the  Opposition.  The 
Iron  Duke  had  expressed  his  opinion  on  a  former  occasion,  that  he 
and  Peel  would  not  make  good  Ministers  to  a  British  sovereign. 
"  I  have  no  small  talk,"  he  said,  "and  Peel  has  no  manners."  He 
had  yet  to  learn  that  a  woman  could  appreciate  other  things  than 
small  talk  and  courtly  manners. 

Peel  accepted  her  Majesty's  commands  to  form  a  Ministry,  but 
soon  discovered  that  the  two  ladies  in  closest  attendance  on  the 
Queen  were  the  wife  and  sister  of  his  leading  opponents.  He 
requested  their  resignation,  but  the  Queen  demurred,  urging  that 
personal  attendants  were  outside  the  range  of  party  politics.  In 
such  circumstances,  Sir  Robert  Peel  felt  compelled  to  decline  her 
Majesty's  commands. 

THE    BED-CHAMBER    PLOT 

This  incident,  which  became  famous  as  the  "  Bed-chamber 
Plot,"  excited  Parliament  and  the  country  to  a  degree  that  it  is 
difficult  to  understand.  Peel's  lack  of  "  manners  "  was  the  main 
cause  of  the  difficulty.  He  failed  to  make  the  Queen  comprehend 
that  he  wished  to  remove  only  the  ladies  whose  positions  might  be 
regarded  as  political,  and  she  .feared  a  general  raid  upon  her  old 
friends  and  even  her  private  attendants,  including  her  secretary, 
Baroness  Lehzen, 


PLEASURES  AND  PAINS  OF  ROYALTY  127 

She  wrote  to  Melbourne  :  "  Do  not  fear  that  I  was  not 
calm  and  composed.  They  wanted  to  deprive  me  of  my  ladies, 
and  I  suppose  they  would  deprive  me  next  of  my  dressers  and 
housemaids ;  they  wished  to  treat  me  like  a  girl,  but  I  will  show 
them  that  I  am  Queen  of  England." 

Victoria  in  this  first  showed  the  decision  and  strength  of  will 
which  she  had  occasion  to  manifest  in  many  circumstances  of  her 
later  life.  She  was  too  inexperienced  to  perceive  that  she  was 
wrong,  and  was  sustained  by  Lord  John  Russell  and  Lord 
Melbourne,  who  told  her  that  she  was  quite  right  and  advised  her 
not  to  yield.  Thus  the  Whigs — to  annoy  their  opponents — were 
found  defending  the  principle  that  the  will  of  the  Sovereign  is 
supreme  over  her  Ministers,  while  the  Tories  maintained  the  oppo- 
site doctrine. 

Angry  discussions  in  Parliament  followed,  Lord  Brougham 
making  a  three  hours'  speech  which  Greville  calls,  "A  boiling 
torrent  of  rage,  disdain  and  hatred."  The  result  of  the  Queen's 
obstinacy  was  that  Peel  declined  the  office  offered  him  and 
Melbourne  was  recalled.  But  the  weak  position  from  which  he  had 
retired  was  still  farther  weakened  by  these  events. 

Years  afterwards  the  Queen,  grown  familiar  with  public  policy, 
took  the  whole  blame  upon  herself.  Lord  John  Russell,  who  had 
been  her  principal  adviser  in  the  course  she  took,  asked  her  in  1854 
if  some  one  else  had  not  advised  her  in  the  matter.  "  No,"  she 
replied,  with  great  candor.  "  It  was  entirely  my  own  foolishness." 

This  affair  made  the  Queen  for  the  time  unpopular.  Near 
the  end  of  1839  some  Tory  members  made  violent  assaults  on  the 
Queen  in  their  speeches.  Another  hostile  manifestation  took  place 
at  a  public  dinner  at  Shrewsbury,  where  the  Tory  company  present 
refused  to  drink  the  health  of  the  newly-appointed  Lord  Lieutenant 
because  he  was  the  husband  of  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  one  of 
the  ladies  of  the  Bed-chamber  whom  the  Queen  had  retained. 

Other  matters  which  annoyed  the  Queen  were  the  parsimony 
of  Parliament  concerning  Prince  Albert's  income,  and  the  question 


128  PLEASURES  AND  PAINS  Of  ROYALTY 

of  the  Prince's  precedence  which  was  raised  in  the  House  of  Lords. 
Such  questions,  unimportant  as  they  appear  to  mankind  in  general, 
have  an  immense  importance  to  the  parties  specially  concerned  in 
them.  The  bill  for  Albert's  naturalization  gave  the  Queen  power 
to  grant  him  precedence  over  all  other  members  of  the  royal  family. 

THE    DIFFICULT    POSITION    OF    THE    PRINCE 

How  well  and  judiciously,  on  the  whole,  the  Prince  fulfilled  his 
functions  as  the  Queen's  adviser,  history  has  borne  testimony.  If 
he  sometimes  made  mistakes,  he  certainly  made  fewer  than  might 
have  been  expected  from  one  in  his  difficult  position.  But  his  un- 
questioned integrity,  his  sincerity,  honesty,  and  high  principle, 
stood  him  in  good  stead  ;  and  they  were  a  sheet-anchor  upon  which 
the  Queen  could  always  rely.  Neither  her  Majesty  nor  her  hus- 
band expected  to  find  life  easy  in  their  exalted  station  ;  but  as  both 
were  in  deep  sympathy  with  each  other,  and  as  love,  trustful  and 
unfeigned,  was  the  moving  spring  of  both,  difficulties  were  over- 
come instead  of  becoming  themselves  insurmountable.  The  Queen's 
was  a  marriage  of  profound  happiness  and  mutual  trust,  for  it  was 
a  real  union  of  souls. 

The  Prince  made  his  way  with  all  classes,  even  with  those 
Tories  who  at  first  looked  rather  askance  at  him.  He  was  concilia- 
tory and  judicious ;  and  to  show  the  way  he  had  advanced  in  the 
public  esteem,  the  remark  which  Melbourne  made  to  the  Queen  on 
the  Regency  Bill  may  be  quoted:  "Three  months  ago  they  would 
not  have  done  it  for  him  ;  it  is  entirely  his  own  character." 

On  June  ist,  1840,  Prince  Albert  made  his  first  public  appear- 
ance at  Exeter  Hall,  and  his  first  speech  in  English.  It  is  amusing 
to  read  in  the  Queen's  own  words  that  "  he  was  very  nervous  before 
he  went,  and  had  repeated  his  speech  to  her  in  the  morning  by 
heart."  On  this  occasion  he  presided  at  a  meeting  for  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  slave-trade,  and  in  the  terse  and  thoughtful  sentences 
he  uttered  gave  glimpses  of  that  power  of  expressing  much  in  few 


PLEASURES  AND  PAINS  OF  ROYALTY  129 

words  for  which  he  was  afterwards  noted.  His  speech  was  declared 
to  be  a  great  success, 

The  Queen  prorogued  Parliament  on  the  nth  of  August, 
Prince  Albert  accompanying  her  for  the  first  time.  Next  day  the 
Court  left  for  Windsor.  On  the  26th  his  Royal  Highness  attained 
his  majority,  and  the  event  was  celebrated  by  a  breakfast  at  Ade- 
laide Lodge.  The  Prince  went  to  London  on  the  28th  for  the  pur- 
pose of  receiving  the  freedom  of  the  city.  At  this  ceremony  the 
names  of  six  aldermen  and  common  councilmen,  who  undertook  to 
vouch  for  the  eligibility  of  the  Prince,  were  read,  together  with  the 
declaration  upon  oath.  The  oath  was  as  follows :  "We  declare, 
upon  the  oath  we  took  at  the  time  of  our  admission  to  the  freedom 
of  the  city,  that  Prince  Albert  is  of  good  name  and  fame  ;  that  he 
does  not  desire  the  freedom  of  this  city  whereby  to  defraud  the 
Queen  or  this  city  of  any  of  their  rights,  customs  or  advantages, 
but  that  he  will  pay  his  scot  and  bear  his  lot ;  and  so  we  all  say." 

The  Chamberlain  then  proposed  the  freeman's  oath  to  the 
Prince,  and  it  was  remarked  that  he  was  evidently  moved  at  that 
part  where  he  swore  to  keep  the  peace  toward  her  Majesty.  Hus- 
bands do  not  always  voluntarily  swear  to  keep  the  peace  toward  their 
wives.  The  Chamberlain  having  next  addressed  his  Royal  High- 
ness, the  Prince  delivered  the  following  answer  very  distinctly  and 
audibly :  "  It  is  with  the  greatest  pleasure  that  I  meet  you  upon 
this  occasion,  and  offer  you  my  warmest  thanks  for  the  honor  which 
has  been  conferred  upon  me  by  the  presentation  of  the  freedom  of 
the  city  of  London.  The  wealth  and  intelligence  of  this  vast  city 
have  raised  it  to  the  highest  eminence  amongst  the  cities  of  the 
world ;  and  it  must  therefore  ever  be  esteemed  a  great  distinction 
to  be  numbered  amongst  the  members  of  your  ancient  corporation. 
I  shall  always  remember  with  pride  and  satisfaction  the  day  on 
which  I  became  your  fellow-citizen  ;  and  it  is  especially  gratifying 
to  me,  as  marking  your  loyalty  and  affection  to  the  Queen." 

Prince  Albert  was  sworn  a  member  of  the  Privy  Council  on  the 
nth  of  September,  and  it  is  stated  that  so  anxious  was  he  to 

a 


130  ,'LEASURES  AND  PAINS  OF  ROYALTY 

discharge  conscientiously  every  duty  which  might  devolve  upon  him, 
that  in  his  retirement  at  Windsor  he  set  to  work  to  master  Hal- 
lam's  "Constitutional  History  "with  the  Queen,  and  also  began 
the  study  of  English  law  with  a  barrister. 

PLEASING    INCIDENTS 

An  incident  of  this  period,  of  a  much  more  private  character, 
is  worth  repeating.  The  Queen  and  her  young  husband  were, 
according  to  custom,  rambling  in  the  pretty  neighborhood  around 
Claremont,  when  on  one  occasion  they  were  caught  in  a  sharp 
shower.  They  took  refuge  in  a  cottage,  and  the  garrulous  old 
woman  entertained  them  with  many  remarkable  stories  of  Princess 
Charlotte  and  other  great  personages  who  had  formerly  lived  at 
Claremont.  She  had  not,  of  course,  the  remotest  idea  who  her 
visitors  were.  By-and-by,  as  the  rain  did  not  cease,  she  offered  to 
lend  them  an  umbrella.  The  offer  was  accepted  ;  but  she  was  very 
careful  about  her  property,  and  exacted  repeated  promises  that  the 
umbrella  should  be  returned.  In  due  course  it  was  sent  back,  when, 
much  to  her  amazement,  the  old  lady  learned  with  whom  she  had 
been  chatting  so  freely. 

The  story  from  Claremont  reminds  me  that  the  Queen  herself 
has  recorded  how  she  began  to  love  a  simple  country  life.  For  the 
first  year  or  two  the  festivities  and  ceremonies  of  London  life  had 
proved  very  attractive,  but  soon  she  became  weary  of  these,  and 
sought  more  and  more  the  enjoyments  of  home  life.  She  writes  : 

"  I  told  Albert  that  formerly  I  was  too  happy  to  go  to  Lon- 
don, and  wretched  to  leave  it,  and  how,  since  the  blessed  hour  of 
my  marriage,  and  still  more  since  the  summer,  I  dislike,  and  am 
unhappy  to  leave  the  country,  and  could  be  content  and  happy 
never  to  go  to  town.  This  pleased  him.  The  solid  pleasures  of  a 
peaceful,  quiet,  yet  merry  life  in  the  country  with  my  inestimable 
husband  and  friend,  my  all-in-all,  are  far  more  durable  than  the 
amusements  of  London,  though  we  don't  despise  or  dislike  these 
sometimes." 


PLEASURES  AND  PAINS  OF  ROYALTY  131 

Her  Majesty's  health  was  much  better  in  the  country  than  in 
town  ;  and  besides,  as  the  Prince  writes : 

"  I  feel  as  if  in  Paradise  in  this  fine  fresh  air,  instead  of  the 
dense  smoke  of  London.  The  thick,  heavy  atmosphere  there  quite 
weighs  one  down.  The  town  is  so  large  that  without  a  long  ride 
or  walk  you  have  no  chance  of  getting  out  of  it.  Besides  this, 
whenever  I  show  myself  I  am  still  followed  by  hundreds  of  people.1 

So  passed  away,  peacefully  and  happily,  the  first  year  of 
wedded  life.  Jealousies,  turmoils,  and  factions  found  no  echo  in 
the  loving  and  merry  life  of  the  happy  young  couple.  While  the  most 
vigilant  attention  was  paid  to  all  the  duties  of  State,  the  Queen 
found  in  the  society  of  her  husband  a  restful  solace  which,  she 
declared,  did  her  worlds  of  good.  There  was  one  cry  that  never 
failed  to  penetrate  the  Royal  ears — that  was  the  cry  of  distress. 
Her  Majesty  was  always  ready  promptly  and  generously  to  respond 
to  any  really  genuine  appeal.  Thus  we  read  of  donations  towards 
Mrs.  Fry's  work  among  prisoners,  and  of  many  acts  of  kindly  and 
loving  charity  over  which  the  Queen  usually  endeavored  to  draw 
a  veil,  seeking  to  act  in  the  spirit  of  the  Lord's  injunction,  not 
to  let  her  right  hand  know  what  her  left  hand  did. 

WHAT    REAL    HOME    LIFE    OUGHT   TO    BE 

The  writer  of  a  capital  series  of  articles  in  "  The  Woman  at 
Home,"  speaks  of  the  home  life  at  Royal  Windsor  as  a  splendid 
example  of  what  real  home  life  ought  to  be.  From  the  glimpses 
given  by  this  writer  a  few  paragraphs  of  great  interest  may  be 
quoted.  It  is  stated,  for  example,  that  in  the  earlier  years  of  her 
married  life  the  Queen  made  great  alterations  in  the  internal 
economy  and  arrangements  at  Windsor,  insisting  in  her  own  clear 
and  incisive  way  on  more  practical  and  reasonable  methods.  For 
instance  :  "  A  Master  of  the  Household  was  appointed  to  per- 
form the  duties  which  had  hitherto  belonged  to  three  State  officials, 
who  were  rarely  on  the  premises  to  discharge  their  functions.  So 
bad  had  been  the  regulations  that  if  a  pane  of  glass  was  broken  ir 


1 32  PLEASURES  AND  PAINS  OF  ROYALTY 

the  scullery  window,  it  took  many  weeks  before  the  repair  could  be 
effected,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  finding  out  whose  duty  it  was  to 
attend  to  it.  There  was  no  one  to  show  guests  to  their  bed- 
rooms, and  one  night  the  Queen  was  surprised  in  her  toilet  by  the 
entrance  of  a  bewildered  gentleman  who  had  mistaken  her  dressing- 
room  for  his  bedroom.  Hitherto  the  unused  bread  had  been  wasted 
in  the  royal  kitchens,  but  the  Queen  now  directed  that  it  should  be 
sent  to  the  inmates  of  the  almshouses  within  the  burgh  of 
Windsor. 

"  Having  so  far  disposed  of  her  household  matters  for  the  day, 
the  Queen  turned  her  attention  to  affairs  of  State.  At  1 1  o'clock 
the  despatch  boxes  were  opened  and  their  contents  discussed  with 
the  Principal  Secretaries  of  State,  when  necessary,  or  perused  with 
the  Prince.  In  the  Foreign  Secretary's  box  were  all  the  recent 
correspondence  with  foreign  powers  and  the  drafts  of  the  proposed 
replies  for  the  Queen's  consideration,  and  like  minutiae  were  observed 
in  the  despatches  of  War,  Admiralty,  and  Home  Departments. 
After  this  business  had  been  transacted,  her  Majesty  received 
visitors  invited  or  commanded — artists,  publishers,  foreigners,  with 
special  introductions,  people  with  presents  for  the  aviary,  and 
tradesmen  with  articles  to  sell.  At  2  o'clock  came  luncheon,  at 
which  the  Queen  ate  and  drank  heartily  after  her  morning's  work, 
and  was  ready  to  enjoy  several  hours'  riding  or  driving  in  the  after- 
noon, accompanied  by  the  Prince,  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  and  often 
by  one  or  other  of  the  children.  Whenever  the  Queen  was  staying 
at  Windsor  her  mother  occupied  Frogmore  House,  quite  near, 
and  invariably  dined  with  her  daughter.  On  returning  from  driv- 
ing, the  Queen  and  Prince  spent  some  time  in  private.  Some- 
times they  amused  themselves  with  drawing  etchings  upon  copper 
of  their  children  or  pet  animals,  which  were  printed  at  their  private 
press.  At  one  time  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir)  George  Hayter  attended 
at  Windsor  Castle  to  give  them  instructions.  Drawing,  etching, 
music,  and  reading  were  the  favorite  recreations  of  the  Queen  and 
her  husband. 


CHRISTENING  OF  THE  PRINCESS  ROYAL 
After  the  Painting  by  C.  R.  Leslie.  R.A. 


THB  PRINCE  CONSORT  AS  CHANCELLOR  OF  CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY 

Presenting  an  A  Jdrrss  to  the  i  Uiecn 


PLEASURES  AND  PAINS  OF  ROYALTY  135 

''  Dinner,  which  took  place  at  8  o'clock,  was  a  stately  affair, 
served  by  servants  in  scarlet  and  powder,  while  a  military  band 
played  in  an  ante-room.  The  conversation  took  place  in  subdued 
whispers,  except  when  the  Queen  addressed  a  guest.  Politics  were, 
by  her  desire,  never  discussed,  and  the  gentlemen  remained  behind 
over  their  wine  only  for  a  very  short  time. 

"  After  the  ceremonious  dinner  was  over,  the  Queen  chatted 
with  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  in  the  drawing-room,  unless  there 
were  special  guests  to  claim  her  attention,  in  a  charmingly  free  and 
easy  manner." 

The  Baroness  Bunsen  writes  to  her  son  in  the  same  strain  after 
lunching  with  the  Queen  at  Stafford  House  :  "The  Queen  looked 
well  and  charming,  and  I  could  not  help  the  same  reflection  that  I 
have  often  made  before,  that  she  is  the  only  piece  of  female  royalty 
I  ever  saw  who  was  also  a  creature  such  as  God  Almighty  has  cre- 
ated. Her  smile  is  a  real  smile,  her  grace  \snatural,  although  it 
has  received  a  high  polish  from  cultivation — there  is  nothing  arti- 
ficial about  her." 

SAD    EPISODES   OF    1842 

The  year  1842  brought  with  it  many  sad  episodes.  Terrible 
news  came  from  Afghanistan,  where  "  the  fatal  policy  of  English 
interference  with  the  fiery  tribes  of  Northern  India  in  support  of 
an  unpopular  ruler  had  ended  in  the  murder  of  Sir  Alexander 
Burnes  and  Sir  William  Macnaghten,  and  the  evacuation  of  Cabul 
by  the  English."  Other  disasters  succeeded,  chief  amongst  which 
was  the  destruction  of  her  Majesty's  44th  Regiment.  The  soldiers 
were  cut  down  almost  to  a  man,  and  only  one  individual  of  the 
whole  British  force  was  able  to  reach  Jellalabad.  This  was  Dr. 
Brydon,  who  arrived  there,  faint  and  wounded,  on  the  i3th  of 
January. 

As  the  year  opened,  there  was  also  war  with  China,  which 
resulted  in  favor  of  Great  Britain.  After  the  taking  of  Chin-keang- 
foo  by  the  British,  and  the  appearance  of  the  squadron  before  Nan- 
kin, hostilities  were  suspended,  and  negotiations  for  peace  were 


r36  PLEASURES  AND  PAINS  OF  ROYALTY 

entered  into  and  concluded   between  the  Chinese  Commissioners 
and  Sir  Henry  Pottinger. 

But  the  condition  of  things  at  home  was  very  serious.  Not 
only  was  there  a  continuous  fall  in  the  revenue,  but  an  ever-growing 
agitation  throughout  the  country  on  the  subject  of  the  Corn  Laws. 
Loud  and  general  complaints  were  heard  of  depression  in  all  the 

principal  branches  of  trade,  accom- 
panied by  distress  among  the 
poorer  classes  ;  and  after  all  allow- 
ance had  been  made  for  exaggera- 
tion there  still  remained  a  real  and 
lamentable  amount  of  misery  and 
destitution.  Though  the  people 
bore  their  sufferings  with  exem- 
plary patience  and  fortitude,  there 
could  be  no  doubt  that  they  were 
passing  through  a  period  of  deep 
trial  and  privation. 

It  was  not,  therefore,  without 
a  shadow  over  her  happiness  that 
the   Queen   opened    Parliament  in 
person   on    the    3d   of 
February.       The    cere- 
mony was  attended  by 
more  than  usual  pomp 
and  splendor  in  conse- 

PORTRAIT  OF  QUEEN  VICTORIA  BY  HERSELF 

In  this  autograph  portrait,  signed  by  the  Queen  Nov.  18, 1850   she  is          qilCnCC    of    the    pTCSCnCC 
seen  in  fancy  costume.  r      1          Tr  •  T»  • 

of  the  King  of  Prussia. 

On  the  1 2th  of  May  the  Queen  gave  a  grand  bal  masque  at 
Buckingham  Palace,  which  is  spoken  of  as  "  the  Queen's  Plantage- 
net  Ball."  The  object  of  the  ball  was  to  endeavor  to  give  a  stimu- 
lus to  trade  in  London,  which  had  gradually  been  getting  worse. 
At  the  Palace  on  this  brilliant  occasion  a  past  age  was  revived  with 
great  picturesqueness  and  splendor.  Her  Majesty  appeared  as 


PLEASURES  AND  PAINS  OF  ROYALTY  i3v 

Philippa,  consort  of  Edward  III.,  and  Prince  Albert  as  Edward 
III.  himself;  the  costumes  of  those  of  the  Queen's  own  circle 
belonging  mostly  to  the  same  era.  Fabulous  sums  were  spent  upon 
dresses,  diamonds,  and  jewels,  which  could  hardly  have  a  direct 
effect  upon  the  trade  of  the  East  End,  though  they  undoubtedly 
did  upon  that  of  the  West.  Her  Majesty's  dress,  however,  was 
entirely  composed  of  materials  manufactured  at  Spitalfields.  In 
her  crown  she  had  only  one  diamond,  but  that  was  a  treasure  in 
itself,  being  valued  at  ,£10,000,  or  $50,000,  and  this  she  wore  on 
only  a  few  occassions.  The  leading  feature  of  the  ball,  according  to 
the  journals  of  the  day,  was  the  assemblage  and  meeting  of  the 
Courts  of  Anne  of  Brittany  and  Edward  III.  and  Philippa.  All  the 
arrangements  were  made  in  exact  accordance  with  the  customs 
of  the  period. 

Thus  with  alternations  of  joy  and  sorrow,  pleasure  and  pain, 
went  on  the  lives  of  England's  young  Queen  and  her  equally 
young  husband.  We  have  alluded  to  these  public  troubles  in  pass- 
ing, to  show  that  the  new  Sovereign's  couch  was  anything  but  a 
bed  of  roses,  not  that  we  propose  here  to  give  a  review  of  public 
affairs  in  England  during  her  reign.  It  is  rather  her  private  than 
her  puolic  life,  her  existence  as  a  woman  rather  than  her  career  as 
a.  Queen  with  which  we  are  in  this  chapter  concerned. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

The  Queen  as  Mother 

ON  the  2 1st  of  November,  1840,  the  first  child  of  Queen  Vic- 
toria was  born  in  Buckingham  Palace.     Victoria  Adelaide 
Mary  Louisa,  as  she  was  named,  became  the  popular  Prin- 
cess Royal  of  England,  and  subsequently,  as  the  wife  of  Frederick 
III.,  Empress  of  Germany,  and  mother  of  the  reigning  Emperor, 
William  II. 

The  Prince  Consort  devoted  himself  lovingly  to  the  care  of 
the  young  mother.  He  sat  by  her  in  a  darkened  room,  and  read 
or  wrote  for  her.  No  one  but  himself  ever  lifted  her  from  her  bed 
to  the  sofa,  and  he  always  helped  to  wheel  her  on  her  sofa  into  the 
next  room.  For  this  purpose  he  would  come  instantly  from  any 
part  of  the  house.  As  years  went  on,  and  he  became  overwhelmed 
with  work  (for  his  attentions  were  the  same  in  all  the  Queen's 
subsequent  confinements),  this  was  often  done  at  much  incon- 
venience ;  but  he  always  came  with  a  sweet  smile.  "  His  care  for 
me,"  says  her  Majesty,  "  was  like  that  of  a  mother  ;  nor  could  there 
be  a  kinder,  wiser,  or  more  judicious  nurse." 

THE    FIRST   CHRISTENING    IN    THE    ROYAL    HOUSEHOLD 

With  all  this  care,  the  Queen  quickly  recovered,  and  was  able 
to  open  Parliament  in  person  at  the  end  of  January.  The  loth  of 
February  was  a  double  gala,  because  it  was  the  day  of  the  first 
christening  in  the  royal  household,  as  well  as  the  anniversary  of  the 
wedding  day.  The  day  before,  when  Prince  Albert  was  skating, 
the  ice  gave  way,  and  he  had  to  swim  for  two  or  three  minutes. 
He  speaks  of  this  accident  and  of  the  christening  in  the  same  letter 
to  his  grandmother  : 


THE  QUEEN  AS  MOTHER  139 

**  Victoria  was  the  only  person  who  had  presence  of  mind  to 
lend  me  assistance,  her  lady  being  more  occupied  in  screaming  for 
help.  The  shock  from  the  cold  was  extremely  painful,  and  I  cannot 
thank  Heaven  enough  that  I  escaped  with  nothing  but  a  severe 
cold.  The  christening  went  off  very  well.  Your  little  great- 
grandchild behaved  with  great  propriety,  and  like  a  Christian  ;  she 
was  awake,  but  did  not  cry  at  all." 

On  the  Qth  of  the  following  November  (1841),  just  when  the 
Lord  Mayor's  procession  was  leaving  Guildhall,  a  second  child  was 
born,  this  time,  to  the  intense  satisfaction  of  the  people  of 
England,  a  son,  the  much-desired  male  heir  to  the  throne.  There 
was  great  rejoicing  throughout  the  land,  and  a  few  days  after  his 
birth  he  was  laden  with  the  titles  of  Prince  of  Wales  and  Earl  of 
Chester.  Not  until  his  sixtieth  year  was  he  to  add  to  these  the 
loftier  title  of  King  of  Great  Britain. 

INTERESTING    HOME    LIFE 

On  the  i  ith  of  November  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Lady  Mayoress 
and  the  Sheriffs  were  received  at  Buckingham  Palace.  After  hav- 
ing had  caudle  served,  the  party  were  conducted  by  the  Lord 
Chamberlain  to  the  apartments  of  Prince  Albert,  to  pay  a  visit  of 
congratulation  to  his  Royal  Highness.  The  infant  Prince  was 
brought  into  the  room  in  which  the  company  were  assembled,  and 
was  carried  around  to  all  the  distinguished  visitors  present.  The 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  issued  a  special  prayer  to  be  offered  up 
in  all  churches  on  behalf  of  the  Queen  and  the  infant  Prince. 

There  was  great  happiness  within  the  Palace.  At  Christmas 
the  Queen  wrote  in  her  journal :  "To  think  that  we  have  two  chil- 
dren now,  and  one  who  enjoys  the  sight  already  (the  Christmas 
tree);  it  is  like  a  dream."  Prince  Albert,  writing  to  his  father, 
said  :  "  This  is  the  dear  Christmas  Eve  on  which  I  have  so  often 
listened  with  impatience  for  your  step,  which  was  to  convey  us  into 
the  g^t-room  To-day  I  have  two  children  of  my  own  to  make 


i4o  THE  QUEEN  AS  MOTHER 

gifts  to,  who,  they  know  not  why,  are  full  of  happy  wonder  at  the 
German  Christmas  tree  and  its  radiant  candles." 

Her  Majesty  gives  us  another  sketch  of  a  peaceful  "interior": 
"Albert  brought  in  dearest  little  Pussy  (Princess  Victoria)  in  such  a 
smart,  white  merino  dress,  trimmed  with  blue,  which  mamma  had 
given  her,  and  a  pretty  cap,  and  placed  her  on  my  bed,  seated  him- 
self next  to  her,  and  she  was  very  dear  and  good  ;  and  as  my  pre 
cious,  invaluable  Albert  sat  there,  and  our  little  love  between  us,  1 
felt  quite  moved  with  happiness  and  gratitude  to  God."  Writing 
some  weeks  later  to  King  Leopold,  she  said  :  "  I  wonder  very  much 
whom  our  little  boy  will  be  like.  You  will  understand  how  fervent 
are  my  prayers,  and  I  am  sure  everybody's  must  be,  to  see  him 
resemble  his  father  in  every  respect,  both  in  mind  and  body."  In 
another  letter  she  remarked  :  "  We  all  have  our  trials  and  vexations; 
but  if  one's  home  is  happy,  then  the  rest  is  comparatively  noth- 
ing." 

The  christening  of  the  baby  Prince,  a  very  imposing  ceremony, 
took  place  in  St.  George's  Chapel,  Windsor  Castle,  on  the  25th  of 
January,  1842.  The  King  of  Prussia,  who  was  in  England  on  a 
visit  to  the  Queen,  stood  sponsor  at  the  christening.  The  child  was 
given  the  name  of  Albert  Edward,  being  named  Albert  after  his 
father,  and  Edward  after  his  maternal  grandfather,  the  Duke  ol 
Kent.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremony  the  "  Hallelujah 
Chorus  "  was  sung  by  the  full  choir,  and  the  overture  to  Handel's 
oratorio  of  "  Esther  "  was  performed. 

Another  daughter  was  born  on  April  21.  1843,  an<^  named 
Alice  Maud  Mary,  and  on  August  6,  1844,  the  second  son,  Alfred 
Ernest  Albert,  afterwards  Duke  of  Edinburgh.  Two  more 
daughters,  Helen  and  Louise,  and  a  fourth  son,  Prince  Arthur, 
were  born  during  the  next  few  years,  and  still  later  two  other 
children,  Prince  Leopold  and  Princess  Beatrice,  completed  the 
family. 

That  the  birth  of  a  prince  was  an  event  of  interest  in  the  house- 
hold, we  notice  that,  when  on  the  May  Day  of  1850  the  Queen's 


THE  QUEEN  AS  MOTHER  141 

seventh  child  and  fourth  son  was  born,  the  Prince  playfully 
announced  the  birth  (on  the  dawn  after  the  Walpurgis  Night)  of 
a  seventh  grandson  to  the  Dowager  Duchess  of  Coburg :  "  This 
morning  at  about  a  quarter  past  eight  ...  a  little  boy  glided 
into  the  light  of  day,  and  was  received  by  the  sisters  with  jubilates. 
'  Now  we  are  just  as  many  as  the  days  of  the  week,'  was  the  cry, 
and  then  a  bit  of  struggle  arose  as  to  who  was  to  be  Sunday.  Out 
of  well-bred  courtesy  the  honor  was  accorded  to  the  new-comer." 

The  infant  proved  the  finest  of  all  the  royal  babies,  and  as  he 
was  born  on  the  eighty-first  birthday  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
the  Queen  resolved  that  the  tiny  prince  should  bear  the  hero's 
name,  Arthur, — a  name  dear  also  to  British  ears  as  that  of  a  great  and 
good  king,  although  sometimes  deemed  a  merely  legendary  one. 
The  little  prince  was  named  also  William,  after  his  godfather,  the 
present  Emperor  of  Germany,  Patrick  for  Ireland's  saint,  and 
Albert  after  his  royal  father. 

A    MODEL    MOTHER 

That  Victoria  was  a  model  mother  is  well  known  to  history, 
for  her  domestic  life  has  been  as  open  and  well  known  to  her 
people  as  has  been  her  public  career. 

Before  the  birth  of  the  Queen's  first  child,that  wise  physician, 
Baron  Stockmar,  wrote  thus  to  the  Prince  Consort  about  the  infant's 
nurse:  "Impress  upon  Anson  the  necessity  of  conducting  this 
affair  with  the  greatest  conscientiousness,  for  a  mans  education 
begins  the  first  day  of  his  life''  If  the  Prince  before  entering  upon 
the  responsibilities  of  parenthood  had  in  this  way  thought  upon 
details  that  are  below  the  notice  of  too  many  fathers,  he  was  not 
more  anxious  than  was  his  wife,  who  became,  as  everyone  knows,  a 
model  mother. 

In  March,  1842,  her  Majesty  wrote  to  Lord  Melbourne  as 
follows : 

' '  We  are  much  occupied  in  considering  the  future  arrangement  of  our 
nursery  establishment,  and  naturally  find  considerable  difficulties  in  it.  As  one 


142 

of  the  Queen's  kindest  and  most  impartial  friends,  the  Queen  wishes  to  have 
Lord  Melbourne's  opinion  upon  it.  The  present  system  will  not  do,  and  must 
be  changed  ;  and  how  it  is  to  be  arranged  is  the  great  question  and  difficulty. 
.  .  .  .  Stockmar  says — and  very  justly — that  our  occupations  prevent  us 
from  managing  these  affairs  as  much  our  own  selves  as  other  parents  can,  and 
therefore  that  we  must  have  some  one  in  whom  to  place  implicit  confidence.  He 
says  a  lady  of  rank  and  title,  with  a  sub-governess,  would  be  the  best." 

Lady  Lyttelton  was  chosen  for  the  responsible  post,  but  the 
Queen  did  not  think  that  this  absolved  her  from  her  duty  as  a 
mother,  and  she  speaks  of  it  as  a  "hard  case"  that  she  could  not 
always  be  with  her  little  ones  when  they  said  their  prayers. 

She  started  with  the  wise  maxim  that  the  children  should  be 
brought  up  as  simply  and  in  as  domestic  a  way  as  possible  ;  that 
(not  interfering  with  their  lessons)  they  should  be  as  much  as  pos- 
sible with  their  parents,  and  learn  to  place  their  greatest  confidence 
in  them  in  all  things.  No  foolish  luxuries  were  allowed  in  the  royal 
nursery.  One  of  the  nurses  writes  that  the  children  "  were  kept 
very  plain  indeed  ;  it  was  quite  poor  living — only  a  bit  of  roast 
beef  and  perhaps  a  plain  pudding ;  "  and  the  nurse  goes  on  to  say 
that  her  royal  mistress  was  "  quite  fit  to  have  been  a  poor  man's 
wife  as  well  as  a  Queen." 

PERSONAL  CARE  OF  HER  CHILDREN 

For  the  guidance  of  the  instructors  of  the  Princess  Royal  the 
following  memorandum  was  drawn  up  by  the  Queen  :  "  I  am  quite 
clear  that  she  should  be  taught  to  have  great  reverence  for  God 
and  religion,  but  that  she  should  have  the  feeling  of  devotion  and 
love  which  our  Heavenly  Father  encourages  His  earthly  children 
to  have  for  Him,  and  not  one  of  fear  and  trembling  ;  and  that  the 
thoughts  of  death  and  an  after-life  should  not  be  represented  in  an 
alarming  and  forbidding  view ;  and  that  she  should  be  taught  to 
know  as  yet  no  difference  of  creeds,  and  not  to  think  she  can  only 
pray  on  her  knees,  or  that  those  who  do  not  kneel  are  less  fervent 
and  devout  in  their  prayers." 


"  HUSH  " 

Her  Majesty,  the  Queen,  with  the  Princess  Royal  and  the  Prince  of  Wales. 
By  Sir  Edwin  Landseer  R.A. 


THE  QUEEN  AS  MOTHER  145 

In  spite  of  her  many  engagements,  the  Queen  often  made 
time  to  hear  some  of  the  lessons  of  her  children  herself.  One  day 
an  under-governess  received  the  news  of  the  serious  illness  of  her 
mother.  Hearing  this,  her  Majesty  came  to  her,  and  said  :  "  You 
shall  go  to  your  mother,  my  dear,  at  once,  and  I  will  hear  the  chil- 
dren's lessons  every  day  myself,  so  you  need  not  be  anxious  about 
them." 

The  girl's  mother  died,  and  on  the  anniversary  of  the  sad  event 
the  governess,  when  giving  a  Scripture  lesson,  could  not  help  burst- 
ing into  tears.  One  of  the  children  stole  out  of  the  room  and  told 
the  Queen.  That  kind-hearted  monarch,  observing,  "  Oh,  poor 
girl !  it  is  the  anniversary  of  her  mother's  death,"  hurried  to  the 
school-room,  and  said  to  Miss  -  -  :  "  My  poor  child,  I  am  sorry 
the  children  disturbed  you  this  morning.  I  meant  to  have  given 
orders  that  you  should  have  this  day  entirely  to  yourself.  Take  it 
as  a  sad  and  sacred  holiday — I  will  hear  the  lessons  of  the  chil- 
dren." And  then  she  added  :  "  To  show  you  that  I  have  not 
forgotten  this  mournful  anniversary,  I  bring  you  this  gift,"  clasping 
on  her  arm  a  beautiful  mourning  bracelet,  with  a  locket  for  her 
mother's  hair,  marked  with  the  date  of  her  death. 

It  was  because  the  Queen  valued  her  children  that  she  was  so 
considerate  to  their  instructors.  What  a  rebuke  the  above  is  to  the 
many  vulgar  women  who  ill-treat  and  insult  those  whom  they 
consider  worthy  of  teaching  their  children  ! 

The  children  were  carefully  kept  away  from  the  Court,  and  it  is 
recorded  that  many  of  the  Queen's  ladies  scarcely  knew  the  royal 
children  save  by  sight  and  by  catching  brief  glimpses  of  them  as 
they  walked  in  the  gardens  with  their  parents,  or  sometimes  came 
to  dessert  after  dinner.  The  most  carefully  selected  governesses 
and  professors  taught  the  children  English,  French,  German,  and 
the  arts. 

But  although  the  Queen  always  was  kind  and  tender  to 
her  children,  she  was  not  wanting  in  that  firmness  which  a  model 
mother  should  possess.  "  Little  nobodies  may  be  permitted  to  be 


146  THE  QUEEN  AS  MOTHER 

saucy  to  others,  but  the  royal  children  were  never  allowed  any  such 
/ulgar  privilege.  They  had  to  do  as  they  were  told,  and  to  be  kind 
and  respectful." 

Two  of  the  Princesses,  when  very  young,  happened  to  go  into 
a  room  in  which  a  servant  was  polishing  the  grate.  In  a  spirit  of 
girlish  mischief,  they  insisted  upon  helping  her,  and  when  they  ob- 
tained possession  of  the  brushes,  instead  of  polishing  the  grate, 
they  polished  the  woman's  face.  The  servant,  when  going  away, 
encountered  Prince  Albert,  and  was  overwhelmed  with  confusion. 
The  Prince,  seeing  the  poor  woman's  black  face,  inquired  the 
reason,  and  was  told  the  truth.  The  Queen  was  made  aware  of 
the  circumstance,  and  she  was  presently  seen  crossing  the  court 
towards  the  servants'  quarters,  leading  the  two  Princesses  by  the 
hand.  The  woman,  who  by  this  time  had  probably  washed  her 
face,  was  brought  forward,  and  her  Majesty  then  made  her  daugh- 
ters ask  the  servant's  pardon. 

MATERNAL    DISCIPLINE 

Here  is  another  example  of  the  Queen's  maternal  discipline. 
One  day  when  she  was  at  a  military  review,  the  Princess  Royal, 
then  thirteen  years  of  age,  who  sat  on  the  front  seat  of  the  car- 
riage, seemed  disposed  to  be  rather  familiar  and  coquettish  with 
some  young  officers  of  the  escort.  Her  Majesty  gave  several  re- 
proving looks  at  her,  without  avail.  At  length,  in  flirting  her  hand- 
kerchief over  the  side  of  the  carriage,  she  dropped  it,  not  acci- 
dentally. Instantly  two  or  three  young  heroes  sprang  from  their 
saddles  to  regain  it.  "  Stop,  gentlemen  !"  exclaimed  the  Queen. 
"  Leave  it  just  where  it  lies.  Now,  my  daughter,  get  down  from 
the  carriage  and  pick  up  your  handkerchief." 

A  footman  let  down  the  steps,  and  the  little  lady,  alighting, 
lifted  from  the  dust  the  piece  of  cambric  and  lace.  She  blushed  a 
good  deal,  and  tossed  her  head  saucily,  but  she  had  received  a 
wholesome,  if  disagreeable,  lesson. 


THE  QUEEN  AS  MOTHER  147 

Another  anecdote  shows  the  firmness  of  both  mother  and 
daughter.  Hearing  their  father  address  the  family  physician  as 
"  Brown,"  the  children  began  to  do  the  same.  The  Queen  corrected 
them,  and  all  called  him  Mr.  or  Dr.  Brown  except  the  Princess 
Royal.  Her  Majesty  heard  her,  and  said  that  if  she  again  did  so 
she  would  be  sent  to  bed.  Next  morning  the  wilful  child  said  to 
the  physician  :  "Good-morning,  Brown;"  then  added,  seeing  her 
mother's  eyes  fixed  on  her :  "  And  good-night,  Brown,  for  I  am 
going  to  bed  ; "  and  to  bed  she  accordingly  went. 

A  sailor  once  carried  one  of  the  Queen's  daughters  on  board 
the  royal  yacht.  As  he  set  her  down  on  the  deck,  he  said  :  "  There 
you  are,  my  little  lady."  The  child,  who  had  not  liked  being 
carried,  shook  herself,  and  said:  "I  am  not  a  little  lady;  I'm  a 
princess."  Her  mother,  who  overheard  her  daughter's  speech,  said 
quietly :  "  You  had  better  tell  the  kind  sailor  who  carried  you  that 
you  are  not  a  little  lady  yet,  though  you  hope  to  be  one  some 
day." 

Nor  did  the  Queen  cease  to  influence  her  children  when  they 
had  become  men  and  women.  We  would  hear  less  of  the  revolt  of 
sons  and  daughters  if  more  parents  had  tact  and  wisdom  such  as 
her  Majesty  displayed  in  dealing  with  the  Prince  of  Wales  on  the 
attainment  of  his  majority.  Then  she  wrote  to  him,  announcing 
his  emancipation  from  parental  authority  and  control.  It  is  one  of 
the  most  admirable  letters  ever  penned.  She  tells  him  that  he  may 
have  thought  the  rule  she  and  the  Prince  Consort  adopted  for  his 
education  a  severe  one,  but  that  his  welfare  was  their  only  object, 
and  well  knowing  to  what  seductions  of  flattery  he  would  eventually 
be  exposed,  they  wished  to  prepare  and  strengthen  his  mind  against 
them ;  that  he  was  now  to  consider  himself  his  own  master,  and 
that  they  should  never  intrude  any  advice  upon  him,  although 
always  ready  to  give  it  whenever  he  thought  fit  to  seek  it.  "  It 
was."  says  Greville,  "  a  very  long  letter,  and  it  seemed  to  have  made 
a  profound  impression  on  the  Prince,  and  to  have  touched  his 
feelings  to  the  quick.  He  brought  it  to  Gerald  Wellesley  in  floods 


x48  THE  QUEEN  AS  MOTHER 

of  tears,  and  the  effect  it  produced  is  a  proof  of  the  wisdom  which 
dictated  its  composition." 

One  of  the  early  visits  of  the  royal  family  to  pleasant  Balmoral 
was  connected  also  with  a  domestic  event  of  great  importance  to  the 
Mother  Queen.  The  young  Prince  of  Prussia,  Frederick  William— 
afterward  the  renowned  general  and  great  and  good  Crown  Prince, 
and  Emperor  for  a  brief  season — came  to  woo  and  win  a  fair  young 
English  Princess  for  his  bride.  With  the  permission  of  his  parents 
and  the  King  of  Prussia  he  laid  his  proposal  before  the  Queen  and 
Prince,  and  was  accepted  by  them,  but  asked  not  to  say  anything  of 
his  love  and  hopes  to  the  Princess  till  after  her  confirmation.  Prince 
Albert's  keen  observation  was  satisfied  with  the  young  Prince,  of 
whom  he  drew  a  perfectly  true  character  :  "His  chiefly  prominent 
qualities  are  great  straightforwardness,  frankness  and  honesty.  .  .  . 
He  speaks  of  himself  as  personally  greatly  attracted  by  Vicky." 
The  young  people  had  met  before,  and  were  known  to  each  other, 
and  the  attraction  was  mutual. 

CONFIRMATION    AND    BETROTHAL    OF    THE    PRINCESS    ROYAL 

Prince  Frederick  William,  however,  could  not  keep  his  secret, 
and  at  last  obtained  permission  to  tell  it ;  and  so  as  he  and  his  lady 
love  ascended  Craig-na-ban,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  2gth  of  Septem- 
ber, "  he  picked  a  piece  of  white  heather,"  the  Queen  tells  us,  "  the 
emblem  of  good  luck,  and  gave  it  to  the  Princess  Royal,"  and  then 
told  his  tale — to  hear  that  it  was  welcome  to  the  sweet  little  royal 
maiden,  and  that  his  love  was  returned. 

The  tender  heart  of  the  Queen  was  deeply  moved  by  this  first 
wooing  in  her  family ;  herself  so  young,  her  daughter  almost  a 
child,  it  must  have  been  an  almost  bewildering  event.  The  Prince 
wrote  in  warm  praise  of  his  young  daughter's  conduct,  of  its  "  child- 
like simplicity  and  candor."  Balmoral  ever  after  had  pleasant 
memories  for  the  Princess  Royal  who  later  became  the  Empress  of 
Germany,  as  it  had  sweet  and  sacred  ones  for  her  royal  mother. 


THE  QUEEN  AS  MOTHER  149 

In  March,  1856,  the  betrothed  Pri-  cess  Royal  was  confirmed 
by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  the  Bishop  of  Oxford,  the 
Queen's  Almoner.  Prince  Albert  led  his  daughter  in  ;  her  god- 
father, King  Leopold,  came  with  the  Queen.  The  Bishop  spoke 
of  the  young  Princess'  devout  and  earnest  manner ;  and  of  Prin- 
cess Alice  being  much  affected. 

The  Princess  Royal  was  very  highly  gifted.  The  previous 
year,  when  only  fifteen  she  had  contributed  a  fine  painting  of  her  own 
design  and  execution  to  a  collection  of  paintings  by  amateurs,  done 
and  sold  for  the  benefit  of  the  widows  of  officers  who  were  killed  in 
the  Crimea.  Her  Royal  Highness'  master,  Edward  Corbould,  was 
very  proud  of  it.  It  sold,  after  some  contention  and  bidding  for 
more  than  $1000. 

But  the  life  of  this  gifted  little  Princess  was  in  very  great  peril 
shortly  afterwards.  In  June,  1856,  as  she  was  one  day  sealing  a 
letter,  the  sleeve  of  her  light  muslin  dress  caught  fire.  Happily 
Miss  Hildyard  was  sitting  near,  and  at  once  wrapped  the  hearthrug 
round  the  Princess.  Mrs.  Andersen,  the  celebrated  pianist,  who 
was  giving  Princess  Alice  a  lesson  at  the  piano  rushed  to  her 
assistance,  and  they  succeeded  in  extinguishing  the  fire,  but  not  in 
saving  the  Princess  from  suffering.  The  arm  was  burnt  from  below 
the  elbow  to  the  shoulder.  Lady  Bloom  field  tells  us  that  her  Royal 
Highness  never  uttered  aery,  but  said,  "  Don't  frighten  mama,  send 
for  papa  first."  She  showed  the  greatest  courage  and  fortitude, 
and  no  doubt  won  still  deeper  admiration  from  her  princely  lover. 


CHAPTER   IX 

Tours    at    Home 

IN   1842  the  Queen  and    her   husband  began  a  series  of   tours 
through  almost   every  part  of  the  British  Isles   celebrated   for 
beautiful  scenery  or   extensive  industries.     The  first  of  these 
tours  was  to   Scotland,  whither  they  were  conveyed  in    the   royal 


ROYAL  PALACE  OF  ST.  JAMES 

yacht.  Sea-sickness  did  not  spare  the  illustrious  travelers ;  but  in 
spite  of  this  kill-joy,  the  testimony  of  the  captain  was  that  "  nothing 
could  be  more  agreeable  and  amiable  than  the  Queen  and  the 
Prince  on  board  the  yacht,  conversing  all  the  time  with  perfect  ease 
150 


TOURS  A  T  HOME  1 5 1 

and  good  humor,  and  on  all  subjects,  taking  great  interest  and  very 
curious  about  everything  in  the  ship,  dining  on  deck  in  the  midst 
of  the  sailors,  making  them  dance,  talking  to  the  boatswain,  and,  in 
short,  doing  everything  that  was  popular  and  ingratiating." 

They  both  felt  dreadfully  tired  and  giddy  when  they  landed  at 
Leith  Roads  at  eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  1st  of  Septem- 
ber. Great  preparations  had  been  made  to  give  a  magnificent 
welcome  at  Edinburgh,  but  somebody  blundered,  and  the  royal  car- 
riages arrived  when  the  provost  and  his  satellites  were,  if  not  slum- 
bering and  sleeping,  certainly  not  in  readiness  to  offer  silver  keys 
on  a  velvet  cushion. 

IN    THE    SCOTCH    HIGHLANDS 

The  day  after,  the  Queen  had  three  experiences  which  she  con- 
sidered worthy  of  a  place  in  her  Journal.  She  tasted  oatmeal  por- 
ridge and  "  Finnan  haddies,"  and  was  turned  back  in  her  drive  by 
"a  Scotch  mist."  On  the  3rd  of  September,  wearing  the  royal 
Stuart  tartan,  she  paid  an  announced  visit  to  Edinburgh,  from  Dal- 
keith  Palace,  in  order  that  the  baulked  ceremonies  might  be  again 
attempted,  and  that  the  local  magnates  might  have  another  chance 
of  honoring  their  Sovereign  and  covering  themselves  with  glory. 

From  Edinburgh,  her  Majesty  traveled  to  the  Highlands. 
Everywhere  she  had  a  splendid  reception,  but  this  was  especially 
the  case  at  the  seat  of  the  Marquis  of  Breadalbane.  "  The  firing 
of  the  guns,"  wrote  the  Queen,  "  the  cheering  of  the  crowd,  the 
picturesqueness  of  the  dresses,  the  beauty  of  the  surrounding  coun- 
try, with  its  rich  background  of  wooded  hills,  altogether  formed  one 
of  the  finest  scenes  imaginable.  It  seemed  as  if  a  great  chief- 
tain in  olden  feudal  times  was  receiving  his  Sovereign.  It  was 
princely  and  romantic."  How  ready  was  her  Majesty  to  be  pleased 
with  everything  we  may  infer  from  the  fact  that  she  professed  to 
be  "getting  quite  fond  of  the  bagpipes!"  But,  as  she  wrote 
with  simple  pathos,  looking  back  upon  it  all,  long  afterwards : 
"Albert  and  I  were  then  only  twenty-three,  young  and  happy." 


152  TOURS  AT  HOME 

At  Drummond  Castle  the  Prince  Consort  made  his  first  at- 
tempt at  deer-stalking,  under  the  guidance  of  Campbell  of  Moon- 
zie.  The  Prince  had  arranged  to  return  at  a  particular  hour  to 
drive  with  her  Majesty.  Moonzie,  who  was  an  ardent  and  agile 
deer-stalker,  had  got  into  the  swing  of  the  sport,  till  then  unsuc- 
cessful. When  the  men  lay  crouching  among  the  heather,  watch- 
ing intently  for  the  herd  expected  to  come  that  way,  the  Prince 
said  it  was  time  to  return.  "  But  the  deer,  your  Royal  Highness?" 
faltered  the  Highlander,  looking  aghast,  and  speaking  in  the  whisper 
which  the  exigencies  of  the  case  required.  The  Prince  explained 
that  the  Queen  expected  him.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  Highlander, 
in  the  excitement  of  the  moment,  and  the  marvel  that  any  man- 
not  to  say  a  Prince — could  give  up  the  sport  at  such  a  crisis,  sug- 
gested that  the  Queen  might  wait,  while  the  deer  certainly  would 
not.  "  The  Queen  commands,"  said  her  true  knight,  with  a  quiet 
smile. 

GUARDED    BY    HIGHLANDERS 

The  Queen  was  especially  charmed  with  the  beautiful  situation 
of  the  ancient  city  of  Perth,  and  the  enthusiastic  reception  which 
the  multitudes  there  assembled  gave  to  her.  Prince  Albert,  too, 
was  delighted,  and  likened  the  appearance  of  the  place  to  Basle. 
At  Scone  Palace,  which  is  within  two  miles  of  Perth,  a  very  natural 
object  of  peculiar  interest  was  the  mound  on  which  all  the  Scottish 
Kings  had  been  crowned.  From  this  palace,  it  is  said,  came  the 
"  Stone  of  Scone,"  which  is  in  the  coronation  chair.  At  Dunkeld 
in  the  Highlands  the  royal  party  were  met  and  escorted  by  a  guard 
of  Athole  Highlanders  armed  all  with  halberts,  and  headed  by  a 
piper.  One  of  them  danced  the  sword-dance,  with  which  the 
travelers  were  greatly  amused,  and  others  of  them  figured  in  a  reel. 

Wherever  the  Queen  rambled  during  her  stay  by  the  shores 
of  Loch  Tay,  she  was  guarded  by  two  Highlanders,  and  it  recalled 
to  her  mind  "olden  times,  to  see  them  with  their  swords  drawn." 
Walking  one  day  with  the  Duchess  of  Norfolk,  the  Queen  and  her 
noble  companion  met  a  "  fat,  good-humored  little  woman."  She 


A.  HUNT  IN  WINDSOR  FOREST 

•^  •«.>  Edw-n  L»nd*eer.  R.A. 


TOURS  AT  HOME  155 

cut  some  flowers  for  the  ladies,  and  the  Duchess  handed  to  her 
some  money,  saying:  "From  her  Majesty."  The  poor  woman 
was  perfectly  astounded,  but,  recovering  her  wits,  came  up  to  the 
Queen,  and  said  naively  that  "her  people  were  delighted  to  see  the 
Queen  in  Scotland."  Wherever  the  royal  visitors  were,  or  went, 
the  inevitable  strains  of  the  bagpipes  were  heard.  They  played 
before  the  Castle  at  frequent  intervals  throughout  the  day,  from 
breakfast  till  dinner-time,  and  invariably  when  they  went  in  or  out 
of  doors.  When  rowed  in  boats  on  the  lake,  two  pipers  sat  in  the 
bows  and  played ;  and  the  Queen,  who,  as  we  have  said,  had  grown 
"quite  fond"  of  the  bagpipes,  was  reminded  of  the  lines  of  Scott, 
with  whose  poems  she  had,  from  an  early  age,  possessed  the  most 
intimate  familiarity : — 

"  See  the  proud  pipers  in  the  bow, 
And  mark  the  gaudy  streamers  flow 
From  their  loud  chambers  down,  and  sweep 
The  furrow' d  bosom  of  the  deep, 
As,  rushing  through  the  lake  amain, 
They  plied  the  ancient  Highland  strain." 

Although,  by  no  means,  an  excessive  quantity  of  time — only  a 
fortnight — was  consumed  in  the  tour,  some  idea  of  the  rapidity  with 
which  distances  were  traversed,  and  the  extent  of  ground  covered, 
may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  no  fewer  than  656  post-horses 
were  employed.  The  Queen  touched  the  hearts  of  the  High- 
landers, among  whom  Jacobitism  remains — not  as  an  element  of 
personal  devotion  to  a  fallen  house,  but  not  the  less  as  a  deep 
chord  of  pathos  and  poetry — by  commanding  a  Scottish  vocalist,  at  a 
concert  given  in  her  honor  at  Blair  Athole,  to  sing  two  of  the  most 
beloved  of  Jacobite  songs  : — "  Cam'  ye  by  Athole,"  and  "  Wae's  me 
for  Prince  Charlie."  When  she  once  more  embarked  at  Granton 
on  her  homeward  route,  she  left  memories  of  pleasure  and  affection 
which  far  exceeded  the  intensely  ardent  excitement  which  had  pre- 
ceded and  greeted  her  landing.  On  the  last  day  which  she  spent 
in  Scotland,  the  Queen  wrote  in  her  journal;  "This  is  our  last 


t56  TOURS  AT  HOME 

day  in  Scotland ;  it  is  really  a  delightful  country,  and  I  am  very 
sorry  to  leave  it."  And  the  day  after  watching  its  vanishing  coast, 
As  the  fair  shores  of  Scotland  receded  more  and  more  from  our 
view,  we  felt  quite  sad  that  this  very  pleasant  and  interesting  tour 
was  over  ;  but  we  shall  never  forget  it." 

In  August  of  the  following  year  the  Queen  and  Prince  Albert 
made  a  yachting  excursion  about  the  South  coast,  which  gave  rise 
to  an  interesting  little  incident.  It  was  raining  when  they  landed 
at  Southampton,  and  the  landing-stage  was  not  properly  covered. 
Another  instance  in  which  "some  one  had  blundered."  But 
the  corporation  officials  were  equal  to  the  exigency.  They  had 
not  forgotten  the  romantic  story  of  how  Sir  Walter  Raleigh 
helped  Queen  Elizabeth  over  the  mud,  and  at  once  took  off  their 
red  gowns  and  spread  them  on  the  pier  to  make  a  dry  footway  for 
their  royal  lady  guest.  A  few  months  afterwards  the  students  of 
Cambridge  acted  with  similar  ready  courtesy. 

THE    QUEEN    IN    IRELAND 

For  twelve  years  after  her  accession  to  the  throne,  the  Queen 
was  a  personal  stranger  to  the  shores  of  Ireland.  Amongst  the 
numerous  fruits  of  the  tranquillity  restored  to  Ireland,  after  the  dis- 
turbances and  sedition  which  had  culminated  in  the  "Young  Ire- 
land" rising  of  1848,  was  a  visit  paid  by  the  Queen  to  her  subjects 
on  the  west  of  St.  George's  Channel  in  the  autumn  of  1849.  ^m~ 
mediately  after  the  prorogation  of  Parliament,  the  Queen  and 
Prince  Albert  proceeded  to  Cowes,  where  a  royal  squadron  was 
ready  to  receive  them.  Under  its  escort,  and  being  accompanied 
by  their  two  eldest  children,  they  steered  for  Cork.  The  Queen 
selected  as  the  first  spot  of  Irish  ground  on  which  to  land,  the  port 
-\  hich.  up  to  the  date  of  her  disembarkation  had  been  known  as 
ove  of  Cork.  She  gave  a  command,  that  in  commemoration 
>f  the  circumstance,  the  Cove  should  thenceforth  be  designated 
Queenstown.  Having  re-embarked,  the  royal  party  steamed  up 
the  beautiful  bay  to  the  city  of  Cork  itself,  where  a  magnificent 


TO  URS  A  T  HOME  1 57 

reception  awaited  them.  The  squadron  proceeded  at  a  slow  rate. 
In  spite  of  its  arrival  at  a  much  earlier  date  than  had  been  antici- 
pated, the  news  spread  like  wild-fire,  and  the  country  people  as- 
sembled in  prodigious  numbers  on  the  shores  of  the  Cove,  which 
were  crowded  with  multitudes  of  excited  Celts,  whose  wild  shouts 
mingled  with  the  firing  of  cannon  and  small  arms,  and  the  ringing 
of  bells,  made  the  whole  scene  animated  beyond  description. 
From  Cork  the  Queen  proceeded  to  Dublin.  There  her  reception 
was  described  by  an  eye-witness  as  "  a  sight  never  to  be  forgot- 
ten." 

The  Queen,  turning  from  side  to  side,  bowed  low  repeatedly. 
Prince  Albert  shared  in  and  acknowledged  the  plaudits  of  the  peo- 
ple ;  while  the  royal  children  were  objects  of  universal  attention 
and  admiration.  Her  Majesty  seemed  to  feel  deeply  the  warmth 
of  her  reception.  She  paused  at  the  end  of  the  platform  for  a 
moment,  and  again  making  her  acknowledgments,  was  hailed  with 
a  tremendous  cheer  as  she  entered  the  terminus  of  the  short  rail- 
way line  which  connects  Kingston  with  Dublin.  On  her  departure, 
a  few  days  later,  an  incident  still  more  gratifying  to  the  Irish  peo- 
ple occurred.  As  the  royal  yacht  approached  the  extremity  of  the 
pier  near  the  lighthouse,  where  the  people  were  most  thickly  con- 
gregated, and  also  were  cheering  enthusiastically,  the  Queen  sud- 
denly left  the  two  ladies-in-waiting  with  whom  she  was  conversing, 
ran  with  agility  along  the  deck,  and  climbed  the  paddle-box  to  join 
Prince  Albert,  who  did  not  notice  her  until  she  was  nearly  at  his 
side.  Reaching  out  to  him,  and  taking  his  arm,  she  waved  her 
hand  to  the  people  on  the  piers.  She  appeared  to  give  some  order 
to  the  captain  ;  the  paddles  immediately  ceased  to  move,  and  the 
vessel  merely  floated  on.  The  royal  standard  was  lowered  in 
courtesy  to  the  thousands  cheering  on  shore,  and  this  stately  obeis- 
ance was  repeated  five  times. 

This  gracious  and  well-timed  visit  to  Ireland  was  a  very  signifi-* 
cant  proof  of  the  royal  confidence  in  the  unshaken  allegiance  of 
the    bulk  of   the  Irish  people.     Nearly   thirty  years  had  elapsed 


158  TOURS  AT  HOME 

since  a  British  sovereign  had  appeared  in  Ireland  ;  and  between  the 
visit  of  George  IV.  and  that  of  Queen  Victoria,  there  was  in  com- 
mon only  the  circumstance  that  both  were  royal  visits. 

Queen  Victoria  and  her  visit  represented  those  popular  princi- 
ples and  sympathies  which  are  the  brightest  jewels  of  the  British 
r Crown,  and  are  now  set  firmly  in  it  for  ever.  Her  visit,  at  once 
august  and  affectionate,  was  a  visit  to  a  nation  which  was  not  only 
loyal  but  free.  "And  joy  came  well  in  such  a  needful  time."  The 
joy  was  exuberant  and  universal.  As  the  loyalty  was  rendered  to 
a  young  Queen,  it  partook  of  the  romantic  and  strictly  national 
nature  of  gallantry.  To  witness  that  joy  must  have  been  the  fittest 
punishment  for  the  disaffected. 

THE    ENTRY    OF    THE    QUEEN    INTO    DUBLIN 

"  We  do  not  remember,"  says  an  authority  not  given  to  rhap- 
sody or  exaggeration,  "  in  the  chronicles  of  royal  progresses,  to 
have  met  with  any  description  of  a  scene  more  splendid,  more  im- 
posing, more  joyous,  or  more  memorable,  than  the  entry  of  the 
Queen  into  the  Irish  capital."  A  similar  scene  was  witnessed  when, 
more  than  fifty  years  later  (1900),  the  widowed  Queen  revisited  the 
island.  The  houses  were  absolutely  roofed  and  walled  with  spec- 
tators. They  were  piled  throng  above  throng,  till  their  occupants 
clustered  like  bees  about  the  vanes  and  chimney-tops.  The  noble 
streets  of  Dublin  seemed  to  have  been  removed,  and  built  anew  of 
her  Majesty's  lieges.  The  squares  resembled  the  interiors  of 
crowded  amphitheatres.  Fagades  of  public  buildings  were  formed 
for  the  day  of  radiant  human  faces.  Invention  exhausted  itself  in 
preparing  the  language  of  greeting  and  the  symbols  of  welcome. 
For  miles  the  chariot  of  the  gay  and  gratified  Sovereign  passed 
under  parti-colored  (not  /ar/y-colored)  streamers,  waving  banners, 
festal  garlands,  and  triumphal  arches.  The  latter  seemed  con- 
structed of  nothing  else  than  solid  flowers,  as  if  the  hands  of  Flora 
herself  had  reared  them.  At  every  appropriate  point  jocund  music 
sent  forth  strains  of  -congratulation ;  but  banners,  flowers,  arches 


TOURS  AT  HOME  159 

and  music  were  all  excelled  by  the  jubilant  shouts  which  broke  upon 
the  air,  loud,  clear,  and  resonant,  not  only  above  drum  and 
trumpet,  but  above  even  the  saluting  thunders  of  the  fleet. 

Perhaps,  apart  from  the  mere  loyal  enthusiasm  of  the  occasion, 
the  most  important  significant  incident  of  this  her  first  visit  was 
that  it  did  not  fail  to  be  remarked  that  the  first  institution  which 
her  Majesty  visited  in  the  capital  was  the  central  establishment  of 
the  Irish  National  Schools — the  first-fruits  of  Irish  liberty,  and  the 
noblest  possession  of  the  Irish  people.  The  Queen  knew  that  in 
these  excellent  schools  the  youth  of  all  persuasions  were  trained 
together,  not  in  the  love  and  pursuit  of  knowledge  alone,  but  in 
the  habit  of  tolerance  and  the  spirit  of  chanty.  The  Queen,  by 
visit,  passed  her  personal  approval  and  sanction  upon  a  system 
which  is  equally  the  antithesis  of  sectarian  discord  and  the  pro- 
moter of  religious  independence. 

Here,  also,  she  discovered  (or  already  knew,  as  was  much  more 
likely),  that  there  was  imparted  the  most  useful,  solid,  and  practical 
instruction,  one  of  a  character  most  precisely  adapted  to  the  wants, 
pursuits,  interests,  and  occupations  of  the  classes  in  whose  behalf  it 
was  devised.  In  her  survey  and  inspection  of  the  normal  schools 
the  Queen  was  attended  by  the  Protestant  and  the  Romanist  Arch- 
bishops, and  the  representatives  of  other  Christian  denominations 
friendly  to  the  great  scheme  stood  beside  and  around  her. 

Again,  four  years  later,  when  the  first  International  Exhibi- 
tion was  held  at  Dublin,  the  Queen  renewed  her  acquaintance  with 
her  Irish  subjects.  Making  a  somewhat  lengthened  stay  at  the 
vice-regal  residence,  she  charmed  the  people  by  the  freedom  with 
which  she  mingled  amongst  them,  and  by  the  special  attention  and 
the  bounteous  patronage  which  she  bestowed  upon  the  little-devel- 
oped but  beautiful  specimens  of  their  indigenous  textile  industries 
in  the  exhibition  building.  A  third  and  a  much  more  prolonged  visit 
was  made  in  the  autumn  of  1861,  the  Queen  having  honored  Lord 
Castlerosse  and  Mr.  Herbert  at  Muckross,  two  gentlemen  whose 
seats  and  demesnes  are  situated  on  the  shores  of  the  beauteous 


160  TOURS  AT  HOME 

Lakes  of  Killarney,  by  accepting  their  hospitable  invitations 
Over  the  lakes,  their  islets,  and  their  surrounding  mountains  and 
mountain  passes  the  Queen  roved  as  freely  and  unrestrainedly  as 
was  her  wont  in  the  retreats  in  which  she  had  year  after  year 
sojourned,  after  the  turmoil  of  the  London  season,  in  the  Scottish 
Highlands. 

VISIT    TO    THE    LAKES    OF    KILLARNEY 

We  shall  let  her  describe  this  portion  of  her  visit : 
"At  eleven  o'clock  of  Tuesday  we  all  started  in  our  own 
sociable,  and  another  of  our  carriages,  and  on  ponies,  for  Ross 
Castle,  the  old  ruin  which  was  a  celebrated  stronghold,  and  from 
which  the  Kenmare  family  take  their  name.  Here  there  was  an 
immense  crowd  and  a  great  many  boats.  We  got  into  a  very  hand- 
some barge  of  eight  oars,  beautifully  rowed,  Lord  Castlerosse 
steering.  The  four  children  and  Lady  Churchill,  Lady  Castle- 
rosse, and  Lord  Granville  were  with  us. 

"We  rowed  first  round  Inisfallen  Island  and  some  way  up  the 
Lower  Lake.  The  view  was  magnificent.  We  had  a  slight  shower, 
which  alarmed  us  all,  from  the  mist  which  overhung  the  mountains, 
but  it  suddenly  cleared  away  and  became  very  fine  and  very  hot. 
At  a  quarter  to  one  we  landed  at  the  foot  of  the  beautiful  hill  of 
Glena,  where,  on  a  small  sloping  lawn,  there  is  a  very  pretty  little 
cottage.  We  walked  about,  though  it  was  overpoweringly  hot,  to 
see  some  of  the  splendid  views.  The  trees  are  beautiful — oak, 
birch,  arbutus,  holly,  yew — all  growing  down  to  the  water's  edge, 
intermixed  with  heather.  The  hills,  rising  abruptly  from  the  lake, 
are  completely  wooded,  which  gives  them  a  different  character  to 
those  in  Scotland,  though  they  often  remind  me  of  the  dear  High- 
lands. We  returned  to  the  little  cottage,  where  the  quantity  of 
midges  and  the  smell  of  peat  made  us  think  of  Alt-na-Giuthasach. 
Upstairs,  from  Lady  Castlerosse's  little  room,  the  view  was  towards 
a  part  of  the  Lower  Lake,  the  outline  of  which  is  rather  low.  We 
lunched,  and  afterwards  re-embarked,  and  then  took  that  most 
beautiful  row  up  the  rapid,  under  the  Old  Weir  Bridge,  through 


TOURS  AT  HOME  161 

the  channel  which  connects  the  two  lakes,  and  which  is  very  intri- 
cate and  narrow.  Close  to  our  right,  as  we  were  going,  we  stopped 
under  the  splendid  hill  of  the  Eagle's  Nest  to  hear  the  echo  of  a 
bugle,  the  sound  of  which,  though  blown  near  by,  was  not  heard. 
We  had  to  get  out  near  the  Weir  Bridge  to  let  the  empty  boats 
be  pulled  up  by  the  men.  The  sun  had  come  out  and  lit  up 
the  really  magnificent  scenery  splendidly,  but  it  was  most  oppres- 
sively hot.  We  wound  along  till  we  entered  the  Upper  Lake, 
which  opened  upon  us  with  all  its  high  hills — the  highest,  the 
Reeks,  three  thousand  four  hundred  feet  high —  and  its  islands 
and  points  covered  with  splendid  trees — such  arbutus  (quite  large 
trees)  with  yews  making  a  beautiful  foreground.  We  turned  into 
a  small  bay  or  creek,  where  we  got  out  and  walked  a  short  way  in 
the  shade  and  up  to  where  a  tent  was  placed,  just  opposite  a  water- 
fall called  Derryconochy,  a  lovely  spot,  but  terribly  infested  by 
midges.  In  this  tent  was  tea,  fruit,  ice,  cakes,  and  everything  most 
tastefully  arranged.  We  just  took  some  tea,  which  was  very 
refreshing  in  the  great  heat  of  this  relaxing  climate.  The  vegeta- 
tion is  quite  that  of  a  jungle — ferns  of  all  kinds  and  shrubs  and 
trees — all  springing  up  luxuriantly.  We  entered  our  boats  and 
went  back  the  same  way  we  came,  admiring  greatly  the  beauty  of 
the  scenery,  and  this  time  went  down  the  rapids  in  the  boat.  No 
boats,  except  our  own,  had  followed  us  beyond  the  rapids.  But 
below  them  there  were  a  great  many,  and  the  scene  was  very  ani- 
mated and  the  people  very  noisy  and  enthusiastic.  The  Irish  always 
give  that  peculiar  shrill  shriek — unlike  anything  one  ever  hears 
anywhere  else. 

4i  On  the  following  day,  at  a  quarter  past  eleven,  we  started  on  a 
most  beautiful  drive.  We  drove  with  Mrs.  Herbert  and  Bertie  in  our 
sociable,  driven  from  the  box  by  Wagland  (my  coachman  since  1857, 
and  a  good,  zealous  servant  who  entered  the  royal  service  in  1831); 
and  though  the  highest  mountains  were  unfortunately  occasionally 
enveloped  in  mist,  and  we  had  slight  showers,  we  were  enchanted 
with  the  extreme  beauty  of  the  scenery.  The  peeps  of  the  lake  : 


162  TOURS  AT  HOME 

the  splendid  woods  full  of  the  most  magnificent  arbutus,  which  in 
one  place  form  for  a  few  yards  an  avenue  under  which  you  drive, 
with  the  rocks, — which  are  very  peculiar — all  made  it  one  of  the 
finest  drives  we  had  ever  taken.  Turning  up  by  the  village  and 
going  round  the  Tore  Mountain  reminded  us  of  Scotland — of  the 
woods  above  Abergeldie,  of  Craig  Daign  and  Craig  Clunie.  It 
was  so  fine.  We  got  out  at  the  top  of  Tore  Waterfall  and  walked 
down  to  the  foot  of  it.  WTe  came  home  at  half-past  one.  At  four 
we  started  for  the  boats,  quite  close  by.  The  Muckross  Lake  is 
extremely  beautiful ;  at  the  beginning  of  our  expedition  it  looked 
dark  and  severe  in  the  mist  and  showers  which  kept  coming  on,  just 
as  it  does  in  the  Highlands.  Mr.  Herbert  steered.  Our  girls,  Mrs. 
Herbert,  Lady  Churchill,  and  Lord  Granville  were  in  the  boat  with 
us.  The  two  boys  went  in  a  boat  rowed  by  gentlemen,  and  the  rest 
in  two  other  boats.  At  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Herbert's  request  I  christened 
one  of  the  points  which  runs  into  the  lake  with  a  bottle  of  wine, 
Albert  holding  my  arm  when  we  came  close  by,  so  that  it  was  most 
successfully  smashed. 

"When  we  emerged  from  under  Beickeen  Bridge  we  had  a  fine 
view  of  the  Lower  Lake  and  the  scenery  of  yesterday,  which  rather 
puzzled  me,  seeing  it  from  another/^/  devue.  At  Benson's  Point 
we  stopped  for  some  time  merely  rowing  about  backwards  and  for- 
wards, or  remaining  stationary,  watching  for  the  deer  (all  this  is  a 
deer  forest  as  well  as  at  Glena),  which  we  expected  that  the  dogs 
would  find  and  bring  down  into  the  water.  But  in  vain  ;  we  waited 
till  past  six  and  no  deer  came.  The  evening  had  completely  cleared 
and  became  quite  beautiful ;  and  the  effect  of  the  numbers  of  boats 
full  of  people,  many  with  little  flags,  rowing  about  in  every  direc- 
tion and  cheering  and  shouting,  lit  up  by  the  evening  light,  was 
charming.  At  Darby's  Garden  the  shore  was  densely  crowded,  and 
many  of  the  women  in  their  blue  cloaks  waded  into  the  river,  hold- 
ing their  clothes  up  to  their  knees." 


QUEEN   VICTORIA  PRESENTING  THE  VICTORIA  CROSS 
This  was  the  first  Presentation  after  her  accession  to  the  Throne.   • 


CHAPTER  X 

Osborne  and  Balmoral 

LIFE  in  the  palace  has  its  advantages,  but  it  has  its  disadvan- 
tages also.     The  rules  of  etiquette  which  restrict  the   lives 
of  sovereigns  are  apt  to  grow  irksome,  and  even  the  most 
luxurious  of  royal  palaces  may  become  what  the  Empress  Eugenie 
called  the  Tuileries — une  belle  prison.     To  escape  this  durance  the 
Queen  purchased  in  1845  a  rural  home  on  the  Isle  of  Wight,  the 
estate  of  Osborne,  where  she  had  a  new  house  built — the  scene  of 
many  happy  days,   and,   after  many  happy  years,  of  her  passing 
away. 

She  wrote  to  King  Leopold:  "  It  sounds  so  pleasant  to  have 
a  place  of  one's  own,  quiet,  retired,  and  free  from  all  woods  and 
forests,  and  other  charming  departments,  which  are  really  the  plague 
of  one's  life." 

TAKING    POSSESSION    OF    THE    NEW    HOUSE 

The  park  and  grounds  attached  to  this  Island  residence  were 
spacious  and  beautiful,  comprising  more  than  three  hundred  acres, 
chiefly  sloping  to  the  east  and  well  stocked  with  noble  timber.  The 
views  were  extensive,  commanding  a  wide  outlook  over  the  ocean 
waters,  with  Portsmouth  and  Spithead  in  the  distance. 

The  taking  possession  of  the  new  house — on  the  I5th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1846 — is  thus  capitally  described  by  Lady  Lyttleton:  "  Our/ 
first  night  in  this  house  is  well  past.  Nobody  smelled  paint  or 
caught  cold,  and  the  worst  is  over.  It  was  a  most  amusing  event 
coming  here  to  dinner.  Everything  in  the  house  is  quite  new,  and 
the  drawing-room  is  very  handsome ;  the  windows  lighted  by  the 
brilliant  lamps  in  the  room  must  have  been  seen  far  out  at  sea.  I 

was  pleased  by  one  little  thing.     After  dinner  we  were  to  drink  the 

165 


166  OSBORNE  AND  BALMORAL 

Queen  and  Prince's  health  as  a  house-warming ;  and  after  it  the 
Prince  said,  very  naturally  and  simply,  but  seriously  :  '  We  have  a 

hymn  '  (he  called   it  a  psalm)  '  for  such  occasions ;  it  begins ' 

and  then  he  repeated  two  lines  in  German,  which  I  could  not  quote 
right,  meaning  a  prayer  to  bless  our  going  out  and  coming  in.  It  was 
dry  and  quaint,  being  Luther's.  We  all  perceived  that  he  was  feel- 
ing it.  And  truly,  entering  a  new  house,  a  new  palace,  is  a  solemn 
thing  to  do,  to  those  whose  probable  span  of  life  in  it  is  long,  and 
in  spite  of  rank,  and  health,  and  youth,  downhill  now.  ...  I 
forgot  much  the  best  part  of  our  breaking-in,  which  was,  that  Lucy 
Kerr  (one  of  the  maids-of-honor)  insisted  on  throwing  an  old  shoe 
into  the  house  after  the  Queen,  as  she  entered  for  the  first  night, 
being  a  Scotch  superstition.  It  looked  too  strange  and  amusing. 
She  wanted  some  melted  lead  and  sundry  other  charms,  but  they 
were  not  forthcoming.  I  told  her  I  would  call  her  Luckie,  and  not 
Lucy." 

THEIR    OSBORNE    HOME 

The  German  hymn  repeated  by  the  Prince  has  been  translated 
as  follows  into  English  : 

"  God  bless  our  going  out,  nor  less 

Our  coming  in  and  make  them  sure  ; 
God  bless  our  daily  bread,  and  bless 

Whate'  er  we  do,  whate'  er  endure  ; 
In  death  unto  His  peace  awake  us, 
And  heirs  of  His  salvation  make  us. " 

Osborne  became  especially  the  children's  home,  there,  free  from 
the  influence  of  the  stately  but  tiresome  etiquette  of  Windsor, 
they  reigned  supreme.  The  Queen  sought  here  to  bring  them  up 
"  as  simply  and  in  as  domestic  a  way  as  possible,"  and  regretted 
that  her  constant  occupation  prevented  her  being  with  them  when 
they  said  their  prayers.  She  commemorated  one  of  her  birthdays 
at  Osborne  by  putting  them  in  possession  of  the  celebrated 
Swiss  Cottage,  in  front  of  which  were  nine  gardens  for  the  nine 


OSBORNE  AND  BALMORAL  167 

children,  for  working  in  which  they  received  the  exact  market  price 
for  their  labor.  There  was  a  carpenter's  shop  for  the  boys,  who, 
under  their  father's  directions,  built  a  fort  entirely  with  their  own 
hands,  even  making  the  bricks.  For  the  Princesses,  the  lower  part 
of  the  cottage  was  fitted  with  kitchen,  larder,  dairy,  etc.,  where 
they  learned  domestic  duties,  and  might  be  found,  up  to  their  elbows 
in  flour,  deep  in  the  mysteries  of  pastry-making  and  cooking. 
They  gave  the  food  they  cooked  to  the  poor,  except  when  occa- 
sionally their  mother  and  father  dined  with  them.  This  delightful 
cottage  also  contained  a  museum,  where  the  children  kept  the 
specimens  of  natural  history  they  were  encouraged  to  collect  and 
many  curiosities.  Amongst  the  latter  were  some  garments  of  two 
infants  who  were  the  sole  survivors  of  a  shipwreck,  and  who  were 
brought  up  on  the  estate,  under  her  Majesty's  supervision. 

HER    HIGHLAND    HOME 

Balmoral  Castle,  which  was  the  Scottish  home  of  Queen 
Victoria,  is  in  the  East  Highlands,  in  the  Valley  of  the  Dee.  The 
Queen  and  Prince  Consort  first  went  there  in  1848,  on  the  recom- 
mendation of  their  physician,  Sir  James  Clark. 

The  neighborhood  of  Balmoral  is  esteemed  the  driest  and 
healthiest  in  Scotland.  It  is  900  feet  above  sea  level.  The  air  is 
pure  and  bracing,  the  soil  gravelly,  and  there  is  less  rain  than  in 
the  West  Highlands. 

It  is  a  beautiful  district,  whether  in  spring,  when  the  birches 
are  in  tender  leaf  and  the  broom  bursting  into  yellow  bloom  ;  or  in 
summer,  when  the  hills  are  pink  with  heather ;  or  in  autumn,  the 
Queen's  favorite  season  there,  when  there  is  an  indescribable  glory 
upon  hill  and  valley,  of  golden  birch,  purpling  heather,  scarlet 
rowan,  and  brown  bracken. 

Millais  says  Scotland  is  like  a  wet  pebble  ;  a  Scotch  pebble  he 
means,  with  its  colors  deepened  and  enriched  by  moisture.  And  this 
is  pre-eminently  true  of  Deeside.  The  district  has  its  wilder  aspects, 
too,  It  is  a  land  of  glens  and  rushing  streams,  of  corries  and  crags. 


i68  OSBORNE  AND  BALMORAL 

The  castle  stands  upon  a  "  haugh  "  or  open  space  by  the  Dee. 
the  hills  receding  for  background.  Byron's  "  Dark  Lochnagar, ' 
3,800  feet  high,  closes  the  vista  to  the  south.  Byron  passed  some 
time  in  this  neighborhood  when  a  boy,  and  Lochnagar  and  Dee's 
"rushing  tide"  are  met  with  more  than  once  in  his  poems. 

Both  the  Queen  and  the  Prince  were  impressed  with  the  beauty 
of  Balmoral,  and,  above  all,  with  its  solitude  and  peace,  after  the  rush 
of  Court  life  in  London  and  Windsor.  The  Prince  rejoiced  espe- 
cially in  the  deer  that  came  "  stealthily  about  the  house,"  and 
with  his  usual  promptitude  had  a  shot  at  them  on  the  third  day 
after  their  arrival.  The  royal  family  made  the  ascent  of  Lochnagar 
that  year,  partly  on  ponies,  partly  on  foot,  and  it  is  said  were  lost 
some  hours  in  a  thick  mist.  The  mountain  has  a  long,  sharp  back, 
ending  in  a  peak,  as  seen  from  the  east,  and  in  a  nook  by  this  peak 
they  ate  their  luncheon.  This  was  the  first  of  many  ascents. 

In  1852,  the  Prince  bought  the  estate  for  ,£31,500  ($157,500). 
Later  on  he  purchased  Birkhall,  in  its  immediate  vicinity,  for  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  who  resided  there  at  one  time  with  his  tutor. 
The  Prince  Consort  made  extensive  plantings  on  the  Birkhall 
estate  for  a  deer  forest,  and  intended  ultimately  to  build  a  larger 
house  for  his  son.  But  Death,  as  he  so  often  does,  cut  short  these 
plans,  and  the  estate  was  afterward  bought  of  the  Prince  of  Wales 
by  the  Queen. 

Abergeldie,  which  lies  between  the  two  other  estates,  was  held 
by  lease.  It  has  long  been  the  property  of  the  Gordons.  Together 
with  the  great  forest  of  Balloch  Buie,  a  still  more  recent  purchase, 
the  whole  comprises  a  little  over  40,000  acres. 

The  estate  extends  along  the  Dee  for  twelve  miles.  A  public 
road  once  ran  up  the  valley  on  both  sides  of  the  river.  But  after 
Balmoral  became  the  property  of  Prince  Albert  the  road  was  closed 
upon  the  south  side,  traffic  being  diverted  to  the  north  bank  by  a 
bridge  just  by  the  castle  gate. 

On  the  first  arrival  of  the  royal  family  they  drove  from  Aber- 
deen, a  distance  of  fifty  miles,  having  come  by  sea  to  that  point.  But 


OSBORNE  AND  BALMORAL  169 

soon  a  railway  began  to  creep  up  the  valley  by  degrees,  threatening 
destruction  to  their  seclusion,  and  was  at  last  stopped  at  Ballater, 
eight  miles  distant,  by  Act  of  Parliament. 

There  was  an  old  castle  on  the  estate  at  that  time,  a  pictur- 
esque old  affair,  as  extant  engravings  show,  which  had  grown  up 
into  its  more  lordly  condition  from  a  farm-house.  This  proved 
quite  inadequate  for  the  family,  however,  and  in  1853  the  corner- 
stone of  a  new  house  was  laid.  In  1855  it  was  ready  for  partial 
occupancy. 

THE    CONSTDERATENESS    OF    THE    PRINCE    CONSORT 

Several  incidents  which  took  place  during  the  building  of  the 
castle  illustrate  the  considerateness  of  the  Prince  Consort.  The 
Crimean  War  broke  out,  with  the  usual  result  of  an  advance  in  the 
price  of  all  merchandise,  including  building  materials.  This  was,  of 
course,  very  unfortunate  for  the  builder,  who  had  made  his  contract 
upon  the  basis  of  previous  prices.  But  Prince  Albert  came  to  his 
relief  by  taking  the  contract  off  his  hands,  and  paying  him  a  good 
salary  as  overseer  of  the  works,  at  the  same  that  he  paid  full  wages 
to  the  workmen. 

At  another  epoch  in  the  building  a  fire  broke  out,  threatening 
destruction  to  all  that  had  been  accomplished.  It  was  manfully 
fought,  Prince  Albert  helping  to  pass  the  buckets  on  from  the 
river,  and  at  last  subdued,  though  not  before  it  had  burned  the 
workshops  and  consumed  the  workmens'  tools,  together  with  the 
little  sums  of  money  put  by  from  their  wages  in  their  chests. 
Prince  Albert  afterwards  ascertained  the  amount  of  these  sums,  and 
made  up  their  loss  to  the  men. 

The  castle  is  of  light  grey  granite  of  a  fine  quality,  and  of  the 
old  Scotch  baronial  architecture,  with  round  turrets  and  extin- 
guisher tops,  and  with  crow-stepped  gables.  Its  great  tower  is  a 
hundred  feet  high  ;  upon  it  is  a  clock  which  gives  the  time  to  the 
neighborhood,  and  a  flag-staff,  from  which  the  royal  standard  floated 
when  the  Queen  was  in  residence. 


170  OSBORNE  AND  BALMORAL 

As  you  look  at  the  castle  from  the  north  bank,  its  towers  seem 
to  rise  out  of  a  mass  of  forest  trees.  But  it  is  really  very  open 
about  it,  with  pleasure-grounds  to  the  west  and  north,  sloping  to 
the  Dee. 

When  Prince  Albert  was  making  his  selection  of  the  site,  he 
fixed  upon  that  which  would  receive  the  sun's  rays  the  greater  part 
of  the  day.  Taken  altogether,  it  impresses  you  as  a  stately  and 
beautiful  home.  But  beautiful  as  it  is  by  day,  it  takes  on  a  more 
marked  loveliness  under  the  magic  play  of  the  moonlight,  with  its 
less  clearly  defined  shadows.  The  castle  accommodates  about  one 
hundred  and  thirty. 

THE    QUEEN    LOVED    BALMORAL    BEST    OF    ALL 

The  Dee  in  the  more  immediate  vicinity  is  bordered  by  large 
trees,  under  which  runs  a  footpath.  So  near  is  the  house  to  the 
river,  that  from  any  part  of  it,  if  the  windows  be  open,  the  rush  of 
its  waters  is  heard.  A  granite  slab  upon  the  lawn  indicates  the 
high-water  mark  of  the  Dee,  at  the  time  of  the  June  freshet  in  1872, 
when  two  little  children  fell  into  a  burn  or  brook  which  enters  the 
Dee  just  above  Balmoral,  and,  being  swept  into  the  larger  stream, 
were  drowned,  a  tragic  incident  that  called  out  the  active  sympathies 
of  her  Majesty.  Dee,  like  all  mountain  streams,  is  as  ruthless  in 
flood  as  he  is  mild  and  placable  in  ebb,  though  never  wholly  to  be 
trusted,  with  his  swift  currents  that  drop  twenty-five  feet  to  the  mile 
in  the  upper  course. 

Little  wonder  is  it  that  the  Queen  loved  Balmoral  best  of  all 
her  residences.  Its  winning  beauty  would  explain  that,  even  aside 
from  the  fact  that  house  and  grounds  were  the  work  of  the  Prince 
Consort,  formed  in  accordance  with  his  taste,  and  therefore  doubly 
dear.  He  left  this  property  to  the  Queen  in  his  will,  and  but  little 
change  has  taken  place  in  it  since  his  death.  Even  when  necessary 
additions  have  been  made,  they  have  been  so  arranged  as  not  to 
interfere  with  the  general  plan.  The  house  was  built  at  first  for  a 


OSBORNE  AND  BALMORAL  171 

residence  of  six  weeks  or  so  in  the  autumn — as  a  hunting-lodge, 
And  as  such  it  was  used  until  the  Prince's  death. 

In  the  spring  following  Prince  Albert's  death,  the  Queen  went 
for  the  first  time  at  that  season — arriving  on  May  Day.  Since  that 
time  she  went  regularly  in  May,  reaching  there  before  her  birth- 
day, May  24th.  She  remained  until  into  June,  and  returned  again 
in  August  in  time  for  the  Prince  Consort's  birthday  on  the  26th. 
She  remained  until  the  middle  of  November. 

When  the  Queen  was  in  Scotland  she  attended  the  service  of 
the  established  church  there,  which  is  the  Presbyterian.  In  Bal- 
moral Castle  the  Chapel,  or  the  "  Service-room,"  as  it  was  called  in 
the  household,  is  finished  wholly  in  Balloch  Buie  wood,  a  dark, 
handsome  wood  enriched  with  many  knots.  The  chairs  are  of 
the  same  wood,  seated  with  dark  leather.  The  seat  of  the  large 
armchair  used  by  the  Queen  is  embroidered  with  the  Scotch  thistle  ; 
a  small  table  stands  beside  it,  with  silk  cushions  for  Bible  and  hymnal. 
Against  the  walls  are  seats  or  settles  of  dark  carved  wood. 

Upon  a  raised  platform  in  one  corner  stands  the  desk,  covered 
with  a  dark  red  velvet  cloth  embroidered  with  passion-flowers  and 
lilies  in  appliqut.  Upon  a  bracket  above  is  a  small  figure  of 
the  Christ.  Framed  pictures  in  black  and  white  hang  upon  the  walls 
—sacred  subjects,  like  Fra  Bartolomeo's  "  Descent  from  the  Cross." 

There  is  a  small  organ  which  was  played  by  the  Princess  Beatrice 
or  by  some  lady-in-waiting.  The  carpet  is  peacock-blue. 

The  service  here  was  Presbyterian,  and  was  performed  by  one 
of  the  Queen's  chaplains.  This  service-room  was  completed  within 
recent  years,  but  previous  to  that  time  the  Queen  worshipped  at  the 
Presbyterian  kirk  which  stands,  or  stood,  just  across  the  Dee  on  the 
north  side.  It  was  taken  down  in  the  spring  of  1893,  to  be  replaced 
by  a  handsomer  structure. 

The  Queen  for  some  time  would  not  consent  to  the  change,  for 
she  loved  the  "  dear  little  kirk  ;  "  and  although  she  did  not  attend 
the  weekly  service  as  formerly,  she  partook  of  the  Communion  there, 
every  autumn  from  1873  to  her  last  visit  to  Balmoral. 


172  OSBORNE  AND  BALMORAL 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  this  Highland  Home 
of  the  Queen  are  the  cairns  which  have  been  erected  there.  It 
must  be  understood  that  a  cairn  was,  in  its  first  intention,  simply  a 
pile  of  stones  to  mark  a  burial-place ;  then  to  commemorate  some 
event  of  importance.  Cairns  are  found  in  every  part  of  Scotland, 
and  top  almost  every  hill  in  the  Highlands. 

THE    MEMORIALS    AT    BALMORAL 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  ancient  cairns  on  Deeside 
is  the  Cairn-a-Quheen,  or  Cairn  of  Remembrance. 

"  Cairn-a-Quheen  "was  the  battle-cry  of  the  Farquharsons  when 
any  marauding  or  warlike  expedition  was  on  foot.  The  clan  mus- 
tered in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  cairn,  each  man  bringing  a 
stone.  These  stones  were  left  on  the  muster  ground  ;  and  on  their 
return,  when  the  survivors  again  assembled,  each  man  picked  up  a 
stone  and  took  it  away  with  him.  Those  that  were  left  denoted 
the  number  of  the  slain,  and  were  added  to  the  cairn.  Cairn-a- 
Quheen  is  on  the  north  side  of  the  Dee,  not  far  from  Balmoral 
Castle. 

It  does  not  surprise  us,  therefore,  that  the  Queen,  who  was  such 
a  lover  of  old  Highland  customs,  should  have  built  a  cairn  to  com- 
memorate the  purchase  of  Balmoral.  It  is  called  the  "  Queen's 
Cairn,"  and  is  the  oldest  upon  the  estate,  a  former  one  having  been 
demolished  to  make  way  for  it.  It  stands  upon  the  highest  point 
of  Craig  Gowan. 

This  cairn  was  built  one  fine  October  day,  in  1852.  The  royal 
family,  accompanied  by  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  in  waiting,  went 
up  to  the  spot,  where  were  assembled  the  servants  and  tenants. 
The  Queen  placed  the  first  stone,  and  Prince  Albert  the  second. 
Then  the  children  each  placed  one  according  to  their  ages.  Prince 
Arthur,  Duke  of  Connaught,  was  the  youngest  at  that  time,  a  wee 
laddie  of  two  years  and  six  months. 

After  the  family,  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  each  placed  a 
stone ;  then  all  advanced  together 


OSBORNE  AND  BALMORAL  173 

And  so  the  cairn  arose  to  the  music  of  the  pipes,  and  with 
much  gay  laughter  and  merriment.  All  the  people  danced  reels, 
including  the  old  women  in  their  mutches,  and  the  little  children, 
among  them  Lizzie  Stewart,  with  hair  a-flying,  who  was  for  many 
years  one  of  the  Queen's  wardrobe-maids. 

When  the  cairn  was  almost  complete,  Prince  Albert  climbed 
up  and  placed  the  topmost  stone.  Then  three  cheers  were  given. 
And  so  it  stands  to  this  day.  Lichens  have  gathered  upon  it,  and 
heather  has  rooted  itself  in  its  crevices.  It  is  about  eight  feet 
high,  a  cone  in  shape,  hollowed  at  one  side.  In  this  hollow  is 
inserted  an  oval  slab  of  granite  bearing  this  inscription  : — 

"  This  cairn  was  erected  in  the  presence  of  Queen  Victoria  and 
Prince  Albert  to  commemorate  the  purchase  of  the  Balmoral  Estate, 
Oct.  77,  1852? 

Each  child  had  a  cairn  built  to  commemorate  his  or  her  mar- 
riage. By  a  path  winding  along  the  back  of  Craig  Gowan,  and  cross- 
ing a  dry  ravine  by  a  rustic  bridge,  over  which  was  the  last  bit  of 
work  planned  on  the  estate  by  Prince  Albert,  you  reach  the  base 
of  Craig  Lowrigan,  on  the  summit  of  which  is  the  cairn  erected  by 
the  Queen  to  the  memory  of  the  Prince.  You  pass  through  a  gate, 
and  a  wide,  smooth  path  is  before  you,  up  which,  though  steep  in 
places,  the  Queen's  garden  chair  could  readily  go. 

The  path  ascends  through  a  wood  of  fir  and  larch.  On  any  fine 
February  day  one  might  stroll  up  the  hill  and  the  robins  would  be 
singing  and  the  doves  cooing  in  the  woods  below,  although  the  wind 
from  off  Lochnagar's  snow-streaked  sides  might  be  piercing  cold. 

The  summit  is  treeless,  but  has  a  low  growth  of  heather  and 
cranberry.  The  shallow  pools  of  water  often  have  a  thin  coating 
of  ice,  and  there  are  plenty  of  deer  tracks  about,  but  no  deer  visible. 

The  cairn  is  a  pyramid  of  granite  blocks,  built  without  mortar. 
It  is  about  forty  feet  square  at  the  base  and  thirty-five  feet  high, 
and  can  be  seen  for  miles  up  and  down  the  valley.  On  one  side 
are  cut  the  initials  of  the  Queen  and  her  children  ;  on  that  fronting 
the  valley  is  the  following  inscription  : 


174  OSBORNE  AND  BALMORAL 

To  THE  BELOVED  MEMORY 

OF 
ALBERT,  THE  GREAT  AND  GOOD 

PRINCE  CONSORT, 
RAISED  BY  HIS  BROKEN-HEARTED  WIDOW 

VICTORIA  R. 
AUGUST  21,   1862 

"  He  being  made  perfect,  in  a  short  time  fulfilled  a  long  time, 
For  his  soul  pleased  the  L,ord, 
Therefore  hastened  He  to  take  him 
Away  from  among  the  wicked." 

— Wisdom  of  Solomon,  iv.  13,  14. 

There  are  not  many  left  on  the  estate  who  knew  the  Prince 
Consort  personally.  Even  most  of  the  children  of  his  day  have 
gone  away.  One  of  those,  who  remain,  remembers  him.  "He 
looked  particularly  well  on  horseback.  He  was  always  busy — 
always  thinking  and  planning  what  good  thing  he  could  do ;  how 
he  could  improve  and  make  things  better." 

One  of  the  old  servants  was  fond  of  speaking  of  "his  kind- 
ness of  heart  and  his  invariable  good  humor.  Met  you  always 
with  a  smile.  If  your  work  pleased  him,  he  said  so,  and  if  it  did 
not  please  him,  he  said  so  ;  but  always  with  the  same  kind  smile. 
Always  ready  to  own  if  he  had  made  a  mistake.  A  busy,  .system- 
atic man.  The  punctualest  man.  To  each  hour  its  work.  He 
might  be  talking  with  you,  when  out  would  come  his  watch. 
'  Time's  up,'  he  would  say,  and  was  off  like  a  bird." 

The  venerable  face  of  the  old  servant  grew  mildly  radiant  as 
he  talked  of  his  master ;  for  the  Prince  was  greatly  beloved  at 
Balmoral.  The  words  "  beloved  master  "  on  the  obelisk  are  not  per- 
functory, as  is  so  often  the  case  with  mortuary  terms  of  endearment. 

The  cottagers  are  fond  of  telling  a  good  story  of  the  Queen's 
three  sons. 

The  three  had  been  fishing  some  distance  from  Balmoral,  and 
were  waiting  at  the  appointed  place  for  the  wagonette  to  take  them 


OS  BORNE  AND  BALMORAL  175 

home.     A  boy  with    a    wagon  machine  came  along,  and,  seeing 
them  standing  there,  asked  where  they  were  going. 

"  To  Balmoral." 

"Would  they  ride  with  him?" 

"  Oh,  yes,"  and  they  all  got  in. 

"And  what  may  you  do  at  Balmoral?"  asked  the  boy  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  who  sat  beside  him ;  the  whole  three,  it  seems, 
being  strangers  to  the  lad. 

"  I  am  the  Prince  of  Wales." 

"  Ay?  and  who  may  that  chap  be?"  indicating  with  his  thumb 
over  his  shoulder  the  second  son  of  her  Majesty. 

"  He  is  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh." 

"  And  t'other  one  ?"  with  another  jerk  of  his  thumb. 

"  The  Duke  of  Connaught." 

The  boy  wore  an  air  of  thought  for  some  moments,  then  he 
spoke  again. 

"  Perhaps  yo'd  like  to  know  who  I  am  ?  "  he  said. 

The  Prince  intimated  that  he  would. 

"  I  am  the  Shah  of  Persia,"  said  the  lad,  not  to  be  outdone  in 
this  assumption  of  titles. 

From  internal  evidence,  I  should  judge  that  this  story 
originated  at  or  about  the  time  of  the  visit  of  the  Shah  of  Persia 
and  his  suite  to  Balmoral.  They  were  not  entertained  at  the 
Castle,  with  the  exception  of  a  lunch,  but  at  the  neighboring  house 
of  Glenmuick.  A  ball  was  given  there  in  their  honor,  largely 
attended  by  the  neighborhood.  The  Shah  was  not  impressed  with 
the  beauty  of  the  ladies,  nor  with  the  dancing.  Like  all  Orientals, 
he  could  not  understand  why  people  should  go  through  the  fatigue 
of  dancing  when  they  could  have  it  done  for  them. 

Going  from  one  castle  to  another,  from  Balmoral  to  Windsor, 
or  in  the  opposite  direction  was  quite  an  event,  and  the  story  of  a 
trip  is  most  entertaining,  especially  when  we  have  at  hand  an  eye- 
witness to  tell  the  story,  which  we  shall,  in  the  main,  give  in  his 
words.  The  Queen's  train  as  here  described  is  the  one  which  was 


1 76  OSBORNE  AND  BALMORAL 

draped  in  purple  and  used  to  carry  the  body  of  the  Queen  from 
London  to  Windsor  for  burial.  The  description  is  of  the  train  as 
used  only  a  short  time  before  the  Queen's  death  . 

The  Queen's  train  as  it  is  made  up  at  Ballater  is  somewhat 
imposing.  It  is  drawn  by  two  engines.  Aside  from  the  Queen's 
two  carriages  there  are  nine  others,  and  added  to  these  two  guard 
and  luggage  vans. 

Very  nearly  in  the  centre  are  the  Queen's  carriages.  In 
entering  the  rear  you  step  into  the  compartment  devoted  to  the 
women  in  attendance. 

Ordinarily  the  steps  of  railway  cars  are  stationary,  but  those 
of  the  Queen's  carnage  are  dropped,  and  when  unused  folded  into 
a  leather  box.  The  handles  of  the  doors  are  heavily  gilded  and 
handsome. 

All  the  compartments  are  thickly  padded,  walls  and  ceiling. 
The  ceilings  are  in  white  silk.  This  first  compartment  is  upholstered 
in  fawn,  and  has  two  long  couches  which  can  be  converted  into  four 
comfortable  night  couches.  Here  the  Queen's  dresser  rides, 
together  with  one  of  the  wardrobe  maids.  These  wardrobe  maids 
alternately  do  night  duty,  i.  e.,  one  always  sleeps  within  the  Queen's 
call,  and  the  one  whose  night  it  is  to  serve  rides  in  this  compartment, 
a  door  at  the  other  end  leading  directly  into  the  Queen's  bedroom. 

The  walls  of  this  royal  sleeping-room  are  upholstered  in  dark 
red.  The  shades  are  green.  So  are  the  beds  which  stand,  two  of 
them,  either  side  of  the  narrow  passage  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
compartment.  The  Princess  Beatrice  always  shares  the  compart- 
ments of  the  Queen.  An  electric  bell  is  within  reach  of  the  beds. 

It  was  here,  between  the  bedroom  and  the  sitting-room,  that 
the  big  Englishman  who  took  me  through  the  carriages,  and  who 
has  the  train  in  charge,  called  my  attention  to  an  extremely  beautiful 
door  which,  he  said,  was  made  of  '  Ungarian  hash.' 

A  lavatory  separates  the  bed  and  sitting-rooms.  This  is 
finished  in  light  wood,  and  the  bowls  and  other  toilet  receptacles 
are  of  silver  plate. 


OSBORNE  AND  BALMORAL  177 

The  sitting-room  is  upholstered  in  light  blue  silk  of  that  vivid 
hue  called  "royal  blue."  Blinds  and  curtains  are  of  blue;  so  are 
the  lambrequins,  which  are  surmounted  with  the  royal  arms. 

Large  easy-chairs,  a  sofa,  and  two  tables  make  up  the  furniture. 
There  are  stationary  lamps  with  blue  shades  and  a  clock.  A  door 
leads  from  the  sitting-room  into  the  compartment  where  the  personal 
attendant  rides.  In  this  compartment  are  four  deep-cushioned  chairs 
which  can  be  converted  into  night  couches.  Thick  rugs  cover  the 
floors  of  all  the  compartments.  There  is  no  particular  splendor 
about  these  interiors  ;  they  are  handsome,  solid,  comfortable ;  in  one 
word,  '  English.' 

The  body  of  each  carriage  is  almost  black  on  the  outside, 
highly  polished,  and  bears  in  colors  the  royal  arms,  the  Scotch 
thistle  and  the  star  of  India.  The  upper  part  is  in  panels  of  white 
and  gilt,  and  there  is  a  narrow  carved  cornice  in  black,  with  here 
and  there  a  gilt  lion's  head  or  a  crown  in  high  relief.  The  ends  of 
the  beams,  or  whatever  they  may  be  technically  called,  which  project 
at  the  bottom  of  the  carriage,  are  also  finished  in  large  gilt  lions' 
heads.  The  running  gear  is  painted  to  simulate  gilt. 

The  Queen's  carriages  are  built  with  a  view  to  noiselessness 
and  the  greatest  possible  smoothness  of  motion.  They  have  five 
floors  ;  two  of  wood  laid  upon  each  other  at  right  angles,  two  of 
rubber  and  one  of  cork.  The  thick  padding  of  the  inside  also 
tends  to  noiselessness.  There  are  no  brakes  upon  these  carriages, 
but  very  powerful  brakes  are  brought  to  bear  upon  the  train  from 
the  engines  and  from  the  guard's  van  in  the  rear.  So  the  occupants 
are  not  subjected  to  those  sudden  jerks  when  stopping  with  which 
the  most  of  us  travelers  are  familiar. 

THE  QUEEN'S  DEPARTURE 

The  train  as  it  stood  the  day  of  the  Queen's  departure,  on 
one  of  her  latest  trips,  had  next  the  engine  and  guard's  van  two 
saloon  cars,  occupied  by  a  sheriff,  directors  and  numerous  officials 
representing  the  railway  systems  over  which  the  train  was  to  pass. 


1 78  OSBORNE  AND  BALMORAL 

These  were  followed  by  the  saloon  for  the  Queen's  Indian  secre- 
tary, Munshi  Abdul  Karim,  and  Indian  attendants.  Next  came 
that  devoted  to  the  use  of  her  private  secretary,  Dr.  Reid,  her 
physician,  and  other  gentlemen.  Then  the  Queen's  carriages, 
followed  by  that  of  the  children  of  Prince  and  Princess  Henry  of 
Battenberg  and  attendants.  The  eighth  saloon  was  for  the  ladies- 
in-waiting  ;  the  ninth  for  the  dressers  and  ladies'  maids ;  tenth  for 
upper  servants  and  pages  ;  eleventh  and  last  for  men  servants. 

Everything  was  spick-and-span,  the  dusting  of  panels  and 
polishing  of  windows  being  kept  up  till  the  very  last  minute  ;  a 
handsome  train,  illustrative  of  the  triumph  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury over  those  dark  ages  when  the  few  folk  who  ventured  to  travel 
entered  upon  their  journey  in  great  fear  and  discomfort,  the  Church 
putting  up  prayers  for  their  safety,  as  the  English  litany  bears  wit- 
ness to-day. 

The  Queen  had  a  waiting-room  at  Ballater,  the  station  near 
Balmoral.  It  was  fitted  up  only  a  few  years  ago,  and  finished  on 
a  day  when  she  was  expected.  In  fact,  figuratively  speaking,  the 
last  blow  of  the  hammer  may  be  said  to  have  mingled  with  the 
sound  of  her  approaching  train.  The  officials  and  workmen  awaited 
anxiously  her  verdict. 

"  Charming  !"  was  her  exclamation  as  she  entered.  The  walls 
are  panelled  in  satin-wood,  polished  but  not  varnished,  alternating 
with  dark  wood.  The  softly-toned  ceiling  is  of  thick  paper,  which 
gives  the  effect  of  stucco,  with  a  white-and-gilt  cornice.  There 
are  two  pretty  windows  of  stained  glass,  with  the  rose,  thistle  and 
shamrock,  and  in  the  centre  the  monogram  V-.  R.  I.  The  double 
English  rose  and  the  Scotch  thistle  are  also  prominent  in  the  ceil- 
ing. Plate  mirrors  are  let  into  the  walls  above  the  fireplace,  and  at 
the  opposite  end  ;  there  is  a  thick  Persian  rug,  and  the  furniture  is 
Queen  Anne,  in  dark  red  morocco.  The  walls  of  the  lavatory  are 
particularly  fine,  being  made  of  Scotch  fir,  a  handsome  wood,  and 
worked  in  the  old  linen  pattern.  Several  smoking-rooms  in  Eng- 
lish houses  have  since  been  finished  in  this  wood  and  pattern,  the 


OSBORNE  AND  BALMORAL  179 

owners  having  seen  and  admired  these  walls  when  guests  of  the 
Queen  at  Balmoral.  Every  appointment  for  the  toilet  is  kept  here, 
even  to  the  toilet  vinegar. 

Tea  was  sometimes  served  in  this  waiting-room  for  members  of 
the  royal  family  coming  in  on  the  train.  It  is  a  tasteful,  cozy, 
homelike  room,  and  when  lighted  up  by  a  blazing  fire  of  soft  coal 
in  its  tiled  grate  it  is  "  charming  ! "  as  the  Queen  said. 

A    BUSY    SCENE 

As  early  as  nine  on  the  day  the  Queen  left  Balmoral — her 
special  train  being  scheduled  for  2.25  P.M. — every  variety  of  wagon, 
was  on  the  way  to  the  castle  for  the  conveyance  of  luggage,  for 
although  there  are  plenty  of  horses  in  the  Balmoral  stables  for 
ordinary  uses,  they  are  insufficient  for  the  moving  of  the  household. 

During  the  forenoon  all  the  saddle  and  carriage  horses  were 
brought  down  together  with  the  ponies  and  children's  donkeys,  the 
latter  round,  fat  little  beasts,  light  grey  and  white.  The  day  before, 
all  the  dogs  had  been  sent  to  Windsor  in  company  with  the  pipers ; 
the  pipes  ignominiously  swathed  in  bags,  and  the  little  golden 
brown  "Marco"  and  a  fat  fox  terrier  named  "Spot"  in-  a  comfort- 
able dog  box. 

The  whole  morning  brakes  and  lorries  or  baggage  vans  con- 
tinued to  arrive,  and  two  of  the  Queen's  tall  footmen,  in  scarlet 
coats,  were  busy  at  the  station  sorting  the  luggage  they  brought. 

By  2  o'clock  people  began  to  gather  in  the  station  square  in 
expectation  of  the  arrival  of  the  Queen.  Carriage  after  carriage 
from  Balmoral  drove  up,  all  open,  although  it  was  a  cold  day  and 
the  wind  swept  freshly  down  the  valley.  But  the  Queen  always 
drives  with  her  carriage  open,  unless  it  storms,  and,  of  course,  the 
Court  follows  her  example. 

The  Secretary  and  Physician,  in  one, —  the  former,  a  tall 
slight  man,  with  grey  hair  and  beard,  and  wearing  a  long  light 
cloak ;  ladies-in-waiting  and  maids-of-honor  in  another ;  the  two 
wardrobe  maids  in  a  carriage  by  themselves. 


i8o  OSBORNE  AND  BALMORAL 

The  Indian  Secretary,  Munshi  Abdul  Karim,  arrived  in  state, 
alone  in  his  carriage,  wearing  a  light  bluish-grey  turban,  and  appar- 
ently concentrating  in  himself  the  dignity  of  the  whole  Indian 
empire.  He  looked  neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left,  but  descend- 
ing with  unbended  solemnity,  stalked  majestically  over  the  red  car- 
pet and  disappeared  into  his  own  saloon. 

Not  so  the  little  white-turbaned  Indian  upon  the  box.  He 
had  no  sense  of  dignity  to  disturb  him,  and  skipped  down  from  his 
perch  with  the  celerity  of  a  monkey,  picked  up  his  master's  traps 
and  trotted  after  him,  also  disappearing  into  the  saloon,  but  reap- 
pearing shortly  at  a  window,  out  of  which  he  hung  in  intense  enjoy- 
ment of  the  bustle. 

My  own  place  of  observation  was  a  window  in  the  Albert 
Memorial  Hall,  looking  directly  down  upon  the  little  square  and 
close  to  the  entrance  of  the  station.  I  heard  a  voice  behind  me 
saying :  '  I  remember  the  first  time  the  Queen  came  to  Balmoral.' 

I  turned  quickly  and  asked  :  '  Do  you  remember  when  she 
and  Prince  Albert  drove  from  Aberdeen  to  Balmoral,  with  tri- 
umphal arches  all  the  way  ?  I  have  been  wanting  to  see  somebody 
that  remembered  that.' 

'Yes,'  she  said,  for  it  was  a  woman's  voice.  'I  remember  it 
all  perfectly.  I  was  eight  years  old,  and  I  wore  a  white  frock,  and 
all  we  children  sang  '  God  Save  the  Queen '  as  she  drove  by.  I  re- 
member how  disappointed  I  was,  for  I  thought  she  would  wear  a 
crown  and  ride  in  a  gilt  coach.  She  wore  a  white  bonnet  trimmed 
with  a  blue  ribbon,  the  royal  blue,  and  a  blue  veil,  and  a  shawl  of 
royal  Stuart  plaid  folded  in  a  point.' 

So  said  the  voice,  and  it  gave  a  picturesque  touch  to  the  hour 
and  scene.  That  was  in  1848,  and  quite  unlike  the  happy-hearted 
wife  of  that  time  was  the  woman  we  were  about  to  see. 

Other  scraps  of  the  Ballater  folk  talk  caught  my  ear :  '  There 
she  is  ! '  '  Oh,  no,  that  isn't  she  yet ! '  '  She'll  not  be  before  her 
time  ! '  '  She's  in  no  hurry  to  get  away  from  Balmoral ! '  'Aye, 
aye  !  she'll  be  sorry  to  go  ! ' 


OSBORNE  AND  BALMORAL  181 

In  the  meantime  the  Guard  of  Honor  had  arrived  and  taken 
their  stand.  From  our  position  we  could  see  the  Balmoral  road 
where  it  winds  around  Craigendarroch,  and  the  carriage  at  first  taken 
for  the  Queen's  proved  to  be  that  conveying  the  baby  of  the  house- 
hold, little  Prince  Donald,  a  fine,  large  carriage  drawn  by  four  horses, 
with  postillions  in  scarlet  jackets,  and  two  footmen  in  the  rumble. 
This  carriage  was  closed,  baby  here  as  elsewhere  being  a  law  unto 
himself.  He  was  lifted  out,  a  soft  white  bundle,  in  his  nurse's 
arms,  and  with  another  child  toddling  by  her  side,  they  also  disap- 
peared under  the  arched  entrance. 

WHEN    THE    QUEEN    ARRIVED 

Soon  after,  two  more  white-turbaned  Indian  attendants  drove 
up  in  a  brougham,  and  one  of  them,  clad  in  a  light  blue  gown,  with 
white  trousers  and  white  sash,  took  his  stand  by  the  entrance. 
Then  we  knew  that  her  Majesty  could  not  be  far  behind. 

For,  as  she  is  always  the  first  to  arrive  at  the  castle,  so  is 
she  the  last  to  leave.  When  she  comes  in  May  and  August,  a 
brougham  is  always  in  waiting  at  the  station,  into  which  two  of  the 
attendants  instantly  spring  and  drive  with  all  speed  to  the  castle, 
to  be  in  attendance  when  her  Majesty  arrives.  And  she  is  the  first 
to  enter  the  castle.  When  she  leaves,  everybody  is  sent  off,  these 
two  attendants  only  waiting  to  see  her  into  her  carriage.  Then 
they  depart,  and  she  is  the  last  to  drive  away. 

A  man  was  stationed  by  the  flagstaff  on  the  hall,  and  as  soon 
as  the  carriage  with  its  outrider  was  seen  coming  round  Craigen- 
darroch the  royal  standard  was  run  up. 

The  carnage  slowed  as  it  entered  the  square,  and  the  Queen 
bowed  as  she  passed.  Her  face  wore  a  somewhat  serious  aspect, 
and  there  was  an  air  of  gravity  about  the  people.  With  two  or 
three  exceptions  they  were  all  Ballater  folk.  They  know  her  well. 
Many  years  of  coming  and  going  have  made  them  familiar  with 
her  face.  It  was  not  curiosity  that  had  brought  ihem  out.  It  was 
quite  another  feeling,  and  it  seemed  more  like  a  family  gathered  to 


1 82  OSBORNE  AND  BALMORAL 

say  '  good-bye '  and  '  god-speed '  to  its  head  than  a  Queen  and  her 
subjects.  There  was  a  touching  homeliness  about  the  scene. 

There  were  no  cheers,  no  demonstration,  as  she  does  not  wish 
it.  Only  once  has  that  rule  been  broken  over,  and  that  was  in  1887, 
her  jubilee  year.  Then  the  school  children  were  ranged  beside 
the  road  ;  the  old  men  over  eighty  came  from  all  down  the  valley 
and  stood  in  one  line,  and  all  the  people  cheered  to  their  hearts' 
content  while  the  Queen  walked  her  horses  and  bowed,  smiling 
and  happy. 

As  her  carriage,  with  its  four  beautiful  greys  ridden  by  postil- 
lions in  black  and  white,  drew  up  at  the  station,  the  salute  was 
played.  For  a  moment  she  sat  quietly  while  every  eye  was  fixed 
upon  her  ;  a  short  woman,  plainly  dressed  in  black,  very  like  her 
later  photographs. 

For  myself,  as  I  looked  at  her,  I  lost  sight  of  the  Queen  and 
Empress  in  the  woman.  I  thought  of  the  young  girl  awakened  on 
that  June  morning  in  1837,  to  be  told  that  she  was  Queen  of  Great 
Britain,  and  who  came  with  loosened  hair  and  little  slippered  feet 
to  ask  the  reverend  prelate,  who  was  one  of  the  messengers,  to 
pray  for  her. 

What  a  life  lay  between  that  hour  and  this!  How  rich  in  all 
that  consecrates  life  and  makes  for  character !  She  has  touched 
the  heights  of  human  happiness,  and  has  sounded  the  deeps  of 
human  sorrow.  '  God  bless  her ! '  I  heard  a  voice  say  behind 
me. 

The  Princess  Beatrice  was  seated  beside  her,  and  her  two 
oldest  children  sat  with  their  backs  to  the  horses.  The  mother  and 
children  stepped  out ;  and  then  Francie  Clark,  her  personal  High- 
land attendant,  who  had  ridden  in  his  place  in  the  rumble,  came 
forward,  together  with  the  blue-and-white  robed  Indian  attendant, 
to  assist  the  Queen  to  alight.  She  stood  for  a  moment,  walking- 
stick  in  hand,  and  then  she,  too,  disappeared  in  the  arched  entrance. 
As  the  train  moved  noiselessly  out  we  saw  her  at  a  window  of  her 
saloon,  and  the  faces  of  the  children,  grave,  like  those  of  every  one 


OSBORNE  AND  BALMORAL  183 

else,  looked  out   from  the  following  carriage.     As  the  train  disap- 
peared down  the  valley,  the  royal  standard  dropped. 

The  Queen's  is  not  a  fast  train.  Thirty-five  miles  an  hour  is 
its  maximum.  It  used  to  be  preceded  by  a  pilot  engine  ;  but  of  late 
years  a  new  system  has  been  adopted.  There  are  ordinarily  three 
men  at  work  on  the  line  in  every  one  and  a  half  miles.  These  are 
turned  for  the  time  into  signalmen,  and  wherever  necessary  addi- 
tional men  are  placed.  Each  one  is  supplied  with  a  white  and  red 
flag.  They  are  so  stationed  that,  together,  they  command  the  line, 
and  as  the  train  approaches  each  shows  his  white  flag  if  all  is  clear ; 
should  there  be  any  obstruction,  he  shows  the  red.  When  night 
comes  on  lanterns  are  substituted  for  flags,  the  white  light  for 
safety,  the  red  for  danger.  So  that  really  every  foot  of  the  line 
from  Balmoral,  or  rather  Ballater,  to  Windsor,  is  under  supervision 
as  the  royal  train  moves  on. 

About  three  hours  after  the  special,  the  train  left  conveying 
the  horses,  donkeys,  ponies  and  carriages — eight  horse-trucks,  with 
three  boxes  in  each  and  a  compartment  for  the  man  in  charge,  and 
four  carriage-trucks.  The  horses  were  blanketed  and  guarded  as 
to  their  legs,  the  donkeys  remonstrating  after  their  fashion  to 
the  embarkation.  There  was  a  carriage  for  the  hostlers  and  addi- 
tional servants,  and  all  were  under  the  charge  of  the  head  coach- 
man, Sands,  a  typical  English  coachman  of  extensive  breadth, 
who  might  have  stepped  out  from  among  his  jolly  compeers  in 
'  Pickwick.' 


CHAPTER    XI 

The  Busy  Woman 

THERE  was  probably  no  one,  no  woman  at  least,  in  all  her 
Empire  whose  days  were  more  completely  filled  with  suc- 
cessive duties  than  those  of  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain. 
For  she  had  not  only  her  own  private  family  and  the  management 
of  her  Balmoral  and  Osborne  estates  to  look  after,  but  also  her 
large  family  of  subjects.  And  in  neither  did  she  throw  the  respon- 
sibility on  her  agents.  It  is  said  of  her  that  no  living  statesman 
was  so  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  workings  of  every  depart- 
ment— of  every  cog,  one  may  say — in  the  vast  governmental 
machine  as  the  Queen.  And  every  detail  in  regard  to  the  manage- 
ment of  her  private  estates  was  laid  before  her. 

The  Queen  was  an  early  riser,  that  is,  early  as  regarded  from 
the  English  upper-class  standpoint,  who  in  their  lives  turn  night 
into  day.  And  she  frequently  chose  to  breakfast  at  a  certain  small 
cottage  in  the  near  neighborhood  of  Balmoral. 

This  cottage  was  originally  a  gardener's  cottage,  and  is  built  of 
lath  and  plaster,  and  was  intended  merely  for  temporary  use.  But 
the  Queen  took  a  fancy  to  it,  and  used  it  for  some  years.  It  con- 
sists of  three  rooms,  in  one  of  which  the  Queen  breakfasted,  and 
in  the  largest  of  which  she  wrote.  The  walls  of  the  latter  room 
are  lined  with  Balmoral  tartan,  a  tartan  designed  by  Prince  Albert. 
It  makes  a  softly  dark  grey  background  slightly  tinted  with  red. 

On  this  background  hang  family  photographs  and  portraits  in 
black  and  white  of  a  somewhat  earlier  date.  You  would  especially 
remark  one  of  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  the  Queen's  mother,  to  whom 
the  nation  owed  so  much  for  the  wise  and  judicious  training  of  her 
daughter.  There  is  an  engraving  of  John  Brown  with  the  dogs  pf 

1 84 


THE  BUSY  WOMAN  185 

Osborne,  and  photographs  of  the  favorite  coolies  "Noble"  and 
"  Sharp."  And,  what  would  immediately  attract  a  bookish  eye, 
there  is  Cassell's  admirable  National  Library  in  its  compact  little 
shelves  upon  a  cabinet  in  one  corner.  A  plain  room,  plainly  fur- 
nished, with  large  round  table  for  writing,  and  more  suggestive  of 
home  than  public  life,  but,  for  that  matter,  the  whole  atmosphere  of 
Balmoral  is  homely.  One  end  of  this  room  is  so  made  that  it  can 
be  entirely  thrown  open,  giving  that  open-air  feeling  of  which  the 
Queen  was  so  fond.  The  cottage  itself  is  secluded,  screened  from 
the  Castle  by  intervening  shrubberies,  and  looking  out  on  smooth 
lawns  and  secluded  paths  bordered  by  quite  primeval  woods. 

THE  QUEEN'S  DAILY  LIFE 

The  Queen  was  fond  of  a  quiet  spot  like  this  in  which  to  work. 
At  Osborne  she  had  a  summer-house,  and  at  Windsor  she  resorted 
to  a  tent  upon  the  lawn  of  Frogmore  House.  And  even  when  she 
was  temporarily  at  a  place,  as  at  Holyrood  Palace,  Edinburgh, 
which  stands  in  anything  but  a  secluded  spot,  she  contrived,  with 
the  help  of  screens  and  umbrellas,  a  place  to  write  in  the  open  air. 

When  the  Queen  was  at  Balmoral  two  extra  trains  were  run 
up  and  down  Deeside,  called  the  Queen's  messenger  trains.  These 
bore  dispatches  to  and  from  London.  The  up  train  arrived  at  5 
o'clock  A.M.,  and,  to  attend  to  these  dispatches  after  they  had  been 
sorted  by  her  private  secretary,  was  a  part  of  the  morning's  busi- 
ness. There  were  innumerable  papers  to  sign,  and  the  simple  dry- 
ing of  the  signatures  was  no  small  task.  In  this  she  was  assisted 
by  her  personal  -attendant,  Francie  Clark,  who  was  always  at  hand. 
The  dispatches  were  returned  upon  the  4  o'clock  messenger  express. 
At  1 1  A.M.  came  the  Balmoral  mail,  for  which  a  messenger  was 
always  in  waiting  at  the  station  with  a  fast  horse  and  a  yellow- 
bodied  gig  stamped  with  the  invariable  V.R. 

In  looking  over  the  newspapers  the  Queen  intimated  whatever 
she  would  like  preserved,  and  it  was  one  of  the  duties  of  the  ward- 
robe maids  to  cut  such  paragraphs  out  and  paste  them  into  an 

ii 


i86  THE  BUSY  WOMAN 

album  supplied  for  this  purpose.  And  innumerable  were  the 
albums  that  grew  out  of  this  habit.  The  cutting  was  not  neces- 
sarily concerning  a  matter  of  public  interest,  or  any  distinguished 
individual.  It  may  be  simply  a  neighborhood  incident,  like  the 
drowning  of  the  young  soldier  of  her  guard  in  the  summer  of  1891, 
or  the  gift  to  a  parish  minister  from  his  people.  The  date  was 
always  affixed  to  these  cuttings,  so  that  when  the  Queen  asked  for 
the  date  of  such  and  such  an  occurrence  it  could  be  readily  found. 

The  Queen  also  had  a  small  moveable  house  or  room  made, 
put  together  with  screw  bolts.  It  could  be  readily  taken  apart  and 
set  wherever  it  pleased  her  to  command,  within  sound  of  the  voice 
of  Dee,  or  on  some  sunny  lawn,  or  in  the  shade  of  a  spreading 
tree.  It  was  about  twelve  feet  square,  and  could  be  opened  on  the 
four  sides  or  closed,  just  as  the  occupant  desired,  being  furnished 
with  sliding  walls  after  the  fashion  of  a  Japanese  house. 

In  late  years  the  Queen  was  no  longer  able  to  walk  about  the 
estate  as  she  used  to  do.  A  woman,  who  was  a  little  girl  in  the 
days  when  Prince  Albert,  too,  came  to  Deeside,  has  told  a  little  inci- 
dent, trivial  in  itself,  but  throwing  light  upon  the  daily  life  and 
ways  of  that  time. 

She,  little  Mary,  in  company  with  her  brother  Kenneth,  was 
helping  her  neighbor  Maggie  to  herd  the  cows.  Their  business  was 
to  see  that  the  cows  did  not  get  at  the  corn  ;  but  they,  being  intent 
on  play,  the  cows  were  soon  left  to  Kenneth's  herding,  who  was  a 
little  lad  of  five.  When  at  last  the  cows  were  discovered  feeding 
upon  the  corn,  Maggie,  true  to  that  instinct  which  impels  every  son 
and  daughter  of  Adam  to  look  about  for  a  scapegoat  for  his  or  her 
own  sins,  fell  upon  Kenneth,  scolding  him  volubly  for  neglecting  to 
look  after  the  cows. 

In  the  midst  of  her  tirade  she  heard  a  voice  call  "  Maggie  !  " 
and,  looking  up,  saw  the  Queen  and  Prince  Albert  in  a  path  upon 
the  hillside  above.  Maggie  hesitated,  but  again  the  clear  voice  of 
the  Queen  called  "  Maggie  !"  and  reluctantly  Maggie  went  for- 
ward 


THE  BUSY  WOMAN  187 

"  Maggie,"  she  said,  kindly,  "you  should  remember  that  Ken- 
neth is  a  little  boy,  and  does  not  understand  about  keeping  the 
cows  off  the  corn.  It  would  be  a  better  way  to  put  up  a  string  so 
they  cannot  get  at  it." 

The  children  were  inwardly  amused  at  the  idea  of  a  string 
being  a  sufficient  guard,  but,  mindful  of  what  was  due  to  the 
Queen,  did  not  smile.  Not  so  Prince  Albert,  who  laughed  heartily 
at  her,  and  the  two  walked  merrily  off  together. 

"The  Prince,"  adds  the  story  teller,  "liked  to  walk  about  in 
that  way,  with  the  Queen  on  his  arm,  just  all  by  themselves,  and 
with  no  attendants  and  no  fuss." 

And  there  were  climbs  over  the  hills,  and  rough,  mossy  ground, 
and  walks  about  the  wood,  the  Prince  catching  sight  of  deer  per- 
haps, and  starting  in  pursuit  with  his  gun,  the  Queen  waiting  and 
sketching.  When  they  first  came  to  Balmoral  the  Queen  "  ran 
about  everywhere,"  says  an  old  servant.  She  "went  up  to  the  top 
of  Craig  Gowan  every  day,  except  on  the  day  of  the  Braemar 
games." 

And  every  Sunday  came  a  little  family  walk,  the  Prince  and 
Queen  and  all  the  children  together.  This  treat  was  looked  for- 
ward to  with  great  delight.  "  Grant,"  or  whatever  the  servant's 
name,  the  children  would  say,  "  to-morrow  is  Sunday,  and  we  are 
all  going  to  walk  with  papa  and  mamma." 

But  all  that  is  long  past.  The  Queen  in  her  last  weeks  went 
about  the  grounds  in  her  garden  chair — a  basket  chair,  with 
thick  rubber  bands  on  the  wheels  for  ease  and  smoothness  of 
motion.  Francie  Clark  led  the  pony  or  donkey,  and  the  dogs  went 
with  her  in  charge  of  the  dogmen — "  Roy"  and  "  Marco  "  and  the 
rest.  The  little  beasties  did  not  accompany  her  in  her  long  drives, 
though  "  Sharp  "  used  occasionally  to  break  away  and  follow  till 
he  caught  up  her  carriage,  to  return  sitting  proudly  by  his  royal 
mistress'  side. 

The  Queen  drove  morning  and  afternoon.  She  drove  very 
fast,  and,  as  she  did  not  care  to  drive  habitually  with  four  horses, 


i88  THE  BUSY  WOMAN 

and  as  she  is  good  to  her  animals,  she  had  a  change  of  horses  in 
readiness  at  certain  stations.  If  she  drove  to  Ballater,  eight  miles, 
a  pair  of  horses  were  sent  down  to  the  hotel  stables  some  time 
before.  The  horses  taken  out  of  the  carriage  there  were  groomed, 
fed,  and  rested  before  being  taken  back.  The  same  was  done  when 
she  drove  up  to  Braemar,  also  eight  miles,  and  then  on  to  the  Linn 
of  Dee,  where  the  carriage  road  up  the  valley  comes  to  an  end. 

Formerly  she  used  to  take  all-day  drives  across  country,  finding 
great  refreshment  in  this  progress  through  wild,  solitary  glens,  by 
broad,  still  moors,  and  within  sound  of  rushing  waters  from  burn 
and  brooklet.  But  all  that  was  given  up  with  advancing  years, 
together  with  the  picnics  when  her  children  were  younger,  when 
John  Brown  boiled  the  tea-kettle  gipsy  fashion  in  shelter  of  some 
cairn  or  cliff,  and  they  drank  their  tea  amid  the  rosy  heather. 

Though  the  Queen  loved  her  solitary  drives  and  walks  at 
Balmoral,  yet  here,  as  elsewhere,  she  occasionally  graciously  showed 
herself  to  her  eager  people.  On  Saturday,  which  was  the  great 
excursion  day  into  the  valley,  she  oftentimes  drove,  and  chose 
her  road,  so  as  to  meet  the  crowded  brakes.  She  doubtless 
enjoyed  the  sight  of  these  her  people  taking  their  pleasure,  and 
they  were  simply  delighted  to  see  her.  As  they  drove  up  to  the 
station  to  take  the  train  you  hear  them  on  all  sides  : 

"  We  saw  the  Queen  ! " 

"  We  met  the  Queen  !" 

Apparently  that  incident  was  the  crowning  pleasure  of  the  day. 

In  her  daily  drive  she  called  to  inquire  for  any  ailing  tenant, 
or,  if  death  had  visited  any  cottage,  to  express  her  sympathy, 

To  one  of  her  old  women  whom  she  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
visiting  yearly,  she  sent  word  one  year  (1892)  that,  as  the  Queen 
was  not  able  to  go  and  see  her,  she  must  come  and  see  the  Queen. 

Sometimes  there  was  an  unexpected  call  upon  her  time  and 
sympathy,  as  when  the  young  soldier  of  her  guard  was  drowned. 
He  was  salmon-fishing,  and  slipped  in  some  way  and  struck  his 
head  so  that  he  was  stunned  and  unable  to  save  himself,  though 


KO 

" 


Q  J= 

2  ~ 
< 

J  e 

o-§ 

Si 


SI 

o  « 

U  £ 

X  f 

H  -" 


THE  BUSY  WOMAN  191 

the  river  in  that  place  was  shallow.  The  Queen  drove  to  the  bar- 
racks to  the  funeral  service,  bringing  a  wreath  to  place  with  her 
own  hands  upon  his  coffin.  And  as  the  train  moved  away,  bearing 
to  his  mother  her  dead  son,  she  stopped  her  carriage  upon  the  rail- 
way bridge  and  watched  it  out  of  sight  down  the  valley. 

And  in  studying  the  life  and  character  of  the  Queen,  one  is 
struck  with  her  domesticity.  One  feels  that  had  she  been  born  in 
a  private  station  she  would  have  been  one  of  the  most  domestic  of 
women,  a  true  housewife. 

HER  MAJESTY'S  SERVANTS 

Of  all  her  Majesty's  personal  servants,  none  has  been  better 
known  to  the  world  at  large  than  her  late  faithful  Highland  attend- 
ant, John  Brown.  He  and  his  forbears  before  him  were  natives  of 
Deeside.  His  father  lived  at  "  The  Bush,"  a  farm  opposite  Bal- 
moral on  the  north  side  of  the  Dee. 

Prince  Albert  found  John  Brown  at  the  stables,  discerned  his 
excellent  qualities,  and  gave  him  the  post  of  gillie.  After  serving 
in  that  capacity  for  some  time,  he  was  promoted  to  the  responsible 
service  of  leading  the  Queen's  pony  in  their  mountaineering  expe- 
ditions. The  pony  was  to  be  led  when  the  ground  was  at  all  rough 
or  bad,  across  ferries,  or  when  it  was  desirable  to  get  on  faster  ;  the 
leader  in  the  latter  case  running  by  the  pony's  side  in  a  steady  trot. 

He,  together  with  John  Grant,  another  old  and  valued  servant, 
always  accompanied  the  Queen  and  Prince  in  those  delightful 
incognito  excursions  in  which  the  Prince  took  such  pleasure,  a 
pleasure  heartily  shared  by  her  Majesty. 

The  Queen  herself  writes  of  the  two,  that  they  were  "discreet, 
careful,  intelligent,  attentive,  ready  to  do  what  is  wanted  ;  the  latter 
(Brown)  particularly,  is  handy  and  willing  to  do  anything  and  every- 
thing, to  overcome  every  difficulty,  which  makes  him  one  of  the 
best  of  servants  everywhere." 

And  so,  step  by  step,  by  faithful  performance  of  every  duty, 
by  unswerving  integrity,  by  a  single-mindedness  that  seems  to  be  a 


i92  THE  BUSY  WOMAN 

characteristic  of  his  race,  the  Highland   Celt,  John  Brown,  at  last 
gained  an  honored  place  in  his  Royal  Mistress'  esteem. 

His  old  acquaintance  in  the  valley  say  good  things  of  him. 

"  Favorite  servants,  as  a  general  thing,"  said  a  Highlander, 
"gain  their  high  places  by  underhand  practices  ;  by  catering  to  the 
weaknesses  or  follies  of  their  employers.  But  John  Brown  wasn't 
that  kind  of  a  man.  He  was  honest  to  bluntness  ;  spoke  his  mind 
right  out  to  high  and  low." 

There  was  never  any  doubt  as  to  what  honest  John  Brown 
thought  of  a  thing,  a  trait  of  character  her  Majesty  was  fully  capable 
of  appreciating. 

It  was  John  Bright,  I  think,  who  said  of  the  Queen  that  she 
was  the  most  absolutely  straightforward  and  truthful  person  he  had 
ever  known.  Being  such,  she  naturally  expected  and  desired  the 
same  truthfulness  in  those  about  her. 

His  fellow-servants  all  liked  John  Brown,  and  speak  well  of 
him.  He  was  always  ready  to  do  them  any  service. 

"  No  humbug  about  him,"  says  one  who  was  long  associated 
with  him. 

This  bluntness  was  not  likely,  however,  to  commend  him  to 
every  one.  People  who  speak  out  their  minds  concerning  men  and 
measures  are  not  generally  popular.  To  render  oneself  univer- 
sally agreeable,  it  is  necessary  to  prophesy  smooth  things. 

And  John  Brown,  doubtless,  spoke  his  mind  to  his  Royal  Mis- 
tress at  times  as  well  as  to  others.  In  fact,  tradition  declares  that 
he  did.  Did  her  Majesty  appear  in  a  comfortable  old  cloak,  her 
faithful  servant  might  say,  with  a  bluntness  that  would  send  a 
shiver  down  the  back  of  a  trained  and  obsequious  courtier,  "And 
what  is  that  thing  you've  got  on  the  day  ?  " 

And  there  is  a  little  story  of  how  on*  time  her  Majesty  was 
sketching  at  the  Glassalt  Shiel,  and  no  table  could  be  supplied  of 
the  exact  height  required.  One  after  another  was  sent  out  to  the 
waiting  Queen,  and  one  after  another  they  were  sent  back.  A 
cloud  seemed  to  darken  the  royal  atmosphere,  as  so  often  happens 


THE  BUSY  WOMAN  193 

in  the  case  of  ordinary  mortals.  In  fact,  there  is  a  singular  uni- 
formity in  human  nature.  The  last  table  was  sent  back  ;  the  shiel 
could  supply  no  more,  and  in  their  despair  the  servants  appealed  to 
John  Brown.  What  should  they  do? 

He  picked  up  one  of  the  rejected  tables,  carried  it  out,  and 
set  it  down  with  his  usual  prompt  emphasis  before  his  Royal  Mis- 
tress. She  looked  up. 

44  They  canna  mak'  one  for  you,"  said  honest  John  Brown. 

The  Queen  laughed  ;  the  cloud  dispersed,  and  that  table  proved 
to  be  the  exact  height  for  sketching. 

This  bluntness  of  both  speech  and  manner  came  in  excellent 
play  when  he  was  called  upon  to  repress  impertinence.  As,  for 
instance,  at  one  time,  when  one  of  the  Queen's  horses  fell  lame  at 
Ballater,  and  the  pair  were  taken  out  while  the  carriage  waited  in 
the  square  for  a  fresh  relay.  The  Queen  remained  in  her  carriage, 
and  the  visitors — it  was  summer — soon  began  to  gather  about, 
keeping,  however,  at  a  decently  respectful  distance,  with  the 
exception  of  one  woman.  She,  possessed  with  that  curiosity 
which  apparently  knows  no  limit  but  its  own  gratification,  came  up, 
and,  leaning  upon  the  carriage,  stared  directly  in  the  Queen's  face. 
Her  Majesty  lowered  her  umbrella  before  her,  but,  luckily,  at  that 
moment  John  Brown  appeared,  and  with  a  wide  sweep  of  his  arm, 
and  in  his  roughest  tone  and  manner,  warned  off  the  intruder. 

44  Be  off  there  !  be  off  there  !  away  with  you  ! "  Really  one 
feels  that  anything  else,  any  courtier-like  grace  of  manner,  would 
have  been  wholly  out  of  place. 

"  I  believe,"  said  the  same  old  fellow-servant  who  had  declared 
there  was  "  no  humbug"  in  John  Brown,  "  I  believe  he  would  have 
stood  between  the  Queen  and  a  bullet  any  day."  And  his  loyalty 
was  unimpeachable.  It  was  the  loyalty  of  the  Highlands.  Every 
one  has  read  or  been  told  how,  when  Prince  Charlie  was  in  hiding, 
with  many  thousand  pounds  upon  his  head,  not  one  of  his  faithful 
Highlanders  would  betray  him,  though  they  were  living  in  abject 
poverty  in  their  wretched  huts. 


194  THE  BUSY  WOMAN 

In  the  Castle  Park,  not  far  from  the  cottage  where  the  Queen 
wrote,  stands  a  life-size  statue  in  bronze,  by  Boehm,  of  this  faithful 
servant.  The  likeness  is  excellent,  I  am  told  by  those  who  knew 
him.  It  is  a  rugged,  shrewd,  kindly  face,  with  a  smile  half-break- 
ing through.  It  is  so  like,  affirms  an  old  cottager,  that  it  makes 
her  feel  creepy  to  look  at  it  —  as  though  he  might  speak  the  next 
moment  ;  and,  she  adds,  with  a  touch  of  Highland  superstition. 
that  she  would  not  like  to  pass  it  after  dark  ! 

He  is  in  the  ordinary  Highland  dress  which  he  wore  in  daily 
attendance  upon  the  Queen.  Upon  his  breast  are  two  medals  ;  one 
for  long  and  faithful  service,  the  other  for  saving  the  Queen's  life 
when,  on  February  29,  1872,  a  young  man  rushed  up  to  her  car- 
riage in  Buckingham  Palace  Gardens  with  a  petition  and  pistol  in 
his  hands. 

John  Brown  lies  in  the  little  kirkyard  at  Crathie,  a  green,  well- 
kept  spot,  not  far  from  the  Castle  gate,  but  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  Dee.  In  the  centre  stands  the  picturesque,  ivy-clad  ruins  of  a 
small  kirk.  His  grave  is  marked  by  a  plain  headstone  of  native 
granite,  placed  there  by  the  Queen.  A  thistle  is  carved  in  the 
pediment,  and  it  is  bordered  with  oak  and  ivy  leaves  in  low  relief. 
The  following  is  the  inscription  : 

THIS  STONE  is  ERECTED 

IN  AFFECTIONATE 
AND  GRATEFUL  REMEMBRANCE  OF 

JOHN   BROWN, 

PERSONAL  ATTENDANT 

AND  BELOVED  FRIEND  OF 

QUEEN  VICTORIA, 

IN  WHOSE  SERVICE  HE  HAD  BEEN 

FOR  34  YEARS. 

BORN  AT  CRAITHENAIRD,  STH  DECEMBER,  1826. 
DIED  AT  WINDSOR  CASTLE,  ayTH  MARCH,  1883. 


"  That  Friend  on  whose  fidelity  you  count,  that  friend  given  to  you  by 
xircumstances  over  which  you  have  no  control,  was  God's  own  gift." 


THE  BUSY  WOMAN  *95 

Her  Majesty's  two  wardrobe  maids,  who  wert  with  her  for 
many  years,  are  natives  of  the  estates  of  Balmoral  arid  Birkhall. 

In  her  Majesty's  household,  her  Indian  Empire  was  repre- 
sented by  her  Indian  Secretary,  Abdul  Karim,  and  her  personal 
Indian  attendant.  The  Munshi,  with  whom  her  Majesty  studied 
Hindustanee,  was  liked  at  Balmoral  for  his  amiability  of  character. 
These  Indians  lived  in  a  part  of  the  Castle  especially  devoted  to 
their  use,  and  where  their  food  was  cooked  by  their  native  servant. 
And  a  fine  odor  of  curry  was  said  to  pervade  that  section  even  in 
their  absence. 

She  gave  her  Balmoral  servants — which  term  includes  grieves, 
keepers,  etc. — a  great  pleasure  at  the  time  the  Colonial  Exhibition 
was  in  progress  in  London,  a  pleasure  still  talked  over  among  them. 
She  invited  them  in  relays  of  eight  or  ten  for  a  ten  days'  stay  at 
Windsor  Castle.  During  that  time  they  not  only  visited  the  exhi- 
bition, but  many  of  the  numberless  places  of  interest  in  London,  a 
competent  guide  being  supplied. 

The  Queen  was  patient  with  her  maids,  though  she  liked  no 
better  than  the  rest  of  us  to  tell  over  and  over  what  she  wished 
done.  Her  justice  could  always  be  relied  upon.  If  a  grievance  could 
be  brought  to  her  knowledge,  redress  was  sure.  She  was  not  easily 
deceived.  Did  she  once  get  a  clue,  she  probed  to  the  bottom  ; 
absolute  truthfulness  was  insisted  upon  ;  no  subterfuges  tolerated. 
Deceived  where  she  had  trusted,  she  "did  not  easily  forgive;  but 
at  the  last  she  forgave."  She  did  not  bestow  her  confidence  at 
once  ;  she  reserved  her  judgment.  Such  were  some  of  the  royal 
traits  hinted  at  in  conversations  ;  personal  opinions  formed  by  obser- 
vation and  knowledge  by  those  who  knew  her  best. 


CHAPTER  XII 

Journeys  in  Foreign  Lands 

THE  first  visit  paid  by  an  English  Sovereign  to  France ,  since 
Henry  VIII.  and  Francis  I.  met  on  the  Field  of  the  Cloth 
of  Gold,  was  when  Queen  Victoria  crossed   on  September 
1st,  1843,  to  Treport,  in   Normandy,  to   stay  with   Louis  Philippe 
and  his  family  at  Chateau  D'  Eu. 

On  the  passage  over,  the  following  incident  took  place  or. 
board  the  new  royal  yacht,  Victoria  and  Albert.  Her  Majesty  had 
just  been  remarking  what  a  comfortable  seat  she  had  selected  for 
herself  on  deck,  in  a  place  protected  by  the  paddle-box,  when  con- 
siderable commotion  was  observed  among  the  sailors.  The  Queen, 
much  puzzled,  asked  what  was  the  matter,  and  inquired  whether 
there  was  going  to  be  a  mutiny.  The  captain  laughed,  but  remarked 
that  he  really  did  not  know  what  would  happen  unless  her  Majesty 
would  be  graciously  pleased  to  remove  her  seat. 

"  Move  my  seat,"  said  the  Queen  ;  "why  should  I  ?  What  pos 
sible  harm  can  I  be  doing  here  ?  " 

"Well,  ma'am,1  said  Lord  Adolphus,  "the  fact  is,  your 
Majesty  is  unwittingly  closing  up  the  door  of  the  place  where  the 
grog  tubs  are  kept,  and  so  the  men  cannot  have  their  grog ! " 

"Oh,  very  well,"  said  the  Queen,  "I  will  move  on  condition 
that  you  bring  me  a  glass  of  grog." 

This  was  accordingly  done,  and  after  tasting  it,  the  Queen 
said  :  "  It  would  be  very  good  if  it  were  stronger  !  "  a  remark  which 
delighted  the  men. 

Louis  Philippe  had  been  a  personal  friend  of  the  Duke  of 
Kent,  and  for  this  and  other  reasons  her  Majesty  received  an  effu- 
sive welcome.  The  bluff-looking  Citizen  King  came  on  board  the 

196 


JOURNEYS  IN  FOREIGN    LANDS  «97 

yacht,  caught  up  the  little  English  Sovereign,  kissed  her  on  both 
cheeks,  and  carried  her  on  to  a  splendid  barge  provided  with  a  crim- 
son silk  awning. 

There  were  every  day  of  the  Queen's  stay  drives  in  char-i- 
bancs  into  the  neighboring  forest,  ending  in  dejeuners  and  fetes- 
champetres.  These  she  enjoyed  heartily,  both  because  they  were 
novel  to  her,  and  because  they  were  spontaneous  and  untrammelled. 
"  So  pretty,  so  merry,  so  rural !"  she  declared.  "  Like  the  fetes  in 
Germany,"  Prince  Albert  said — the  long,  frequently  rough  drives 
under  the  yellowing  trees  in  the  golden  September  light,  the  camp- 
chairs,  the  wine  in  plain  bottles,  the  improvised  kitchen  hidden 
among  the  bushes,  the  many  young  people  of  high  rank  all  so  gay, 
the  King  full  of  liveliness  and  brusqueness,  his  Queen  all  mother- 
liness  and  consideration — everything  was  delightful. 

This  excursion  was  followed  by  one  to  Belgium,  when  the  old 
cities  of  Flanders  put  on  their  fairest  array,  and  the  staid  inhabi- 
tants were  stirred  up  to  joyous  enthusiasm. 

FIRST    VISIT    TO    GERMANY 

Speaking  of  her  first  visit  to  Germany,  in  August,  1845,  ^er 
Majesty  said  long  afterwards  that  it  made  her  inclined  to  cry,  so 
pure  and  tender  had  been  the  pleasure.  How  could  this  have  been 
otherwise,  considering  that  at  Rosenau  Castle  she  slept  in  the  room 
in  which  her  Albert  had  been  born,  and  was  shown  by  him  "  the 
tiny  little  bedroom  "  where  he  and  his  brother  used  to  sleep  ?  At 
Aix-la-Chapelle  the  King  of  Prussia  received  the  visitors,  and 
accompanied  them  to  Cologne.  Here  the  inhabitants  did  their 
best  to  get  rid  of  the  unsavory  odors  for  which  their  town  is  infa- 
mous by  pouring  eau-de-Cologne  on  the  roadways.  The  Rhine  was 
made  one  vast  feu-de-joie  by  reason  of  blazing  rafts,  rockets,  and 
musketry.  We  can  well  believe  her  Majesty  when  she  says  that 
Bonn  University,  which  was  her  husband's  alma  mater,  interested^ 
her  much.  At  Gotha  there  was  an  open-air  masque,  in  which  arti- 
sans and  peasants  played  parts,  and  the  royal  personages  mixed 


I98  JOURNEYS  IN  FOREIGN  LANDS 

with  them,  dancing,  laughing,  talking,  and  pelting  the  children  with 
flowers,  cakes,  and  bonbons.  "  They  were,"  wrote  Queen  Victoria, 
"  quite  poor  children,  and  yet  so  well  dressed  in  nice,  clean  things 
(their  Sunday  dress)  ;  and  this  is  because  they  are  peasants,  and 
do  not  aspire  to  be  more.  Oh,  if  our  people  would  only  dress 
like  peasants,  and  not  go  about  in  flimsy  faded  silk  bonnets  and 
shawls." 

THE    QUEEN    VISITS    PARIS 

In  August,  1856,  the  Queen  again  crossed  to  France  and 
visited  the  Emperor  Napoleon  in  Paris.  The  occasion  was  memor- 
able from  the  fact  that  it  was  the  first  time  an  English  Sovereign 
had  been  in  the  capital  of  France  since  1422,  when  the  infant 
Henry  IV.  was  crowned  in  that  city.  In  a  drive  which  she  took 
with  the  Emperor  she  explained  her  friendly  attitude  toward  the 
Orleans  family,  which  it  had  been  said  would  displease  the  Empe- 
ror. She  told  him  that  they  were  her  friends  and  relations,  and 
that  she  could  not  abandon  them  in  their  adversity,  though  politics 
were  never  touched  upon  between  her  and  them.  The  Emperor 
understood  the  situation  and  accepted  the  explanation.  Prince 
Albert's  birthday  was  celebrated  in  the  course  of  her  visit,  and  the 
Emperor  gave  him  a  picture  by  Meissonier,  and  the  Empress  a 
mounted  cup  carved  in  ivory. 

The  Emperor  did  his  utmost  to  make  the  visit  agreeable  to 
his  royal  guest,  showing  her  all  that  was  memorable  and  attractive 
in  his  beautiful  city.  Balls  of  surpassing  splendor  were  given  in 
Paris  and  Versailles.  There  was  a  grand  review  of  troops  in  the 
Champ  de  Mars,  when  the  Queen  regretted  that  she  had  not  been 
on  horseback,  though  the  day  was  not  fine.  From  the  review  the 
visitors  drove  to  the  H6tel  des  Invalides  to  see  the  tomb  of  the 
first  Napoleon.  "  There,"  says  her  Majesty,  "  I  stood,  at  the  arm 
of  Napoleon  III.,  his  nephew,  before  the  coffin  of  England's  bit- 
terest foe,  I,  the  granddaughter  of  that  king  who  hated  him  most, 
and  who  most  vigorously  opposed  him,  and  this  very  nephew,  who 
bears  his  name,  being  my  nearest  and  dearest  ally." 


JOURNEYS  IN  FOREIGN  LANDS  201 

In  her  "Diary"  the  Queen  records  her  deep  gratitude  for 
*'  these  eight  happy  days  ; "  and  the  little  Prince  of  Wales  liked 
Paris  so  much  that  he  tried  to  persuade  the  Empress  to  retain  him 
and  his  sister  after  the  departure  of  his  royal  parents.  The  Empress 
said  that  she  could  not  do  so,  as  the  Queen  and  his  father  could  not 
spare  them.  "  Oh,  yes,"  the  Prince  told  the  amused  lady,  "  they 
can  ;  there  are  six  more  at  home." 

Another  visit  was  paid  in  1858  by  the  Queen  to  the  Emperor 
and  Empress  at  Cherbourg.  Towards  sunset  of  a  lovely  day  the 
Victoria  and  Albert  ran  into  the  harbor,  and  her  Majesty,  always 
thinking  of  her  country's  needs,  wrote  :  "  It  makes  me  very  unhappy 
to  see  what  is  done  here,  and  how  well  protected  the  works  are,  for 
the  forts  and  the  breakwater  (which  is  treble  the  size  of  the  Ply- 
mouth one)  are  extremely  well  defended.  The  works  at  Alderney, 
by  way  of  counterdefence,  look  childish." 

After  a  State  dinner,  there  were  speeches,  a  description  of 
which  by  the  Queen  we  quote,  as  it  shows  what  a  very  sympathetic 
wife  she  was :  "  The  Emperor  made  an  admirable  speech,  in  a 
powerful  voice,  proposing  my  health  and  those  of  Albert  and  the 
royal  family.  Then,  after  the  band  had  played,  came  the  dreadful 
moment  for  my  dear  husband,  which  was  terrible  to  me,  and  which 
I  should  never  wish  to  go  through  again.  He  did  it  very  well, 
though  he  hesitated  once.  I  sat  shaking,  with  my  eyes  riveted  to 
the  table.  This  over,  we  got  up,  and  the  Emperor  in  the  cabin 
shook  Albert  by  the  hand,  and  we  all  talked  of  the  terrible  '  emo- 
tion'we  had  undergone,  the  Emperor  himself  having  'changed 
color,'  and  the  Empress  having  also  been  very  nervous.  I  shook 
so  I  could  not  drink  my  cup  of  coffee." 

In  1867  the  Queen  received  two  illustrious  visitors  at  Windsor, 
the  Queen  of  Prussia,  and  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  the  latter  of 
whom  was  entertained  with  lavish  hospitality.  Later  came  the 
Empress  of  France  to  visit  her  at  Osborne.  In  August  her  Majesty 
left  England  on  a  visit  to  Switzerland,  traveling  incognito  as  the 
Countess  of  Kent.  On  her  way  she  stopped  for  a  day  or  two  at 


202  JOURNEYS  IN  FOREIGN  LANDS 

the  English  Embassy,   Paris,  where  the  Empress  Eugenie  called 
upon  her. 

This  visit  is  worthy  of  mention  from  the  fact  that  three  years 
afterwards  the  Empress  became  a  fugitive  from  France,  and  a 
resident  at  Chislehurst,  England,  where  the  Queen  called  to  see 
her,  and  no  doubt  made  kind  efforts  to  soften  the  bitterness  of  her 
exile.  In  the  following  year  the  Emperor,  released  by  his  German 
captors,  came  to  reside  with  his  wife  at  Chislehurst,  and  the  Queen 
again  visited  that  place  of  royal  refuge,  accompanied  by  Prince 
Leopold.  The  Emperor  was  much  downcast  by  his  misfortunes, 
and  was  suffering  both  in  body  and  mind,  but  this  manifestation  of 
friendship  greatly  touched  him.  He  was  the  third  royal  fugitive 
from  France  who  had  sought  a  home  in  England  during  the 
century. 

FIRST    VISIT    TO    THE    CROWN    PRINCESS 

Her  Majesty  frequently  went  abroad  to  see  her  children  after 
they  had  married  and  made  their  homes  on  the  Continent.  Of  her 
first  visit  to  the  Crown  Princess  she  writes  :  "  There  on  the  plat- 
form stood  our  darling  child,  with  a  nosegay  in  her  hand.  .  .  .  and 
long  and  warm  was  the  embrace  as  she  clasped  me  in  her  arms  ; 
so  much  to  say  and  to  ask,  quite  the  old  Vicky  still." 

In  1869  the  Queen  again  went  to  Switzerland,  traveling  incog- 
nito, as  she  frequently  preferred  to  do,  as  the  Countess  of  Kent. 
She  also  made  trips  to  the  south  of  France,  and  was  greatly  pleased 
with  Mentone,  and  the  kindness  there  shown  to  her.  One  day  an 
old  man  tried  to  throw  a  bouquet  of  wild  flowers  (very  beautiful 
they  are  at  Mentone)  into  the  royal  carriage,  but  missed  it,  and 
the  blossoms  fell  in  the  road.  The  Queen  at  once  stopped  the 
carriage  for  the  giver  to  pick  them  up  and  present  them,  receiving 
them  with  a  nod  and  a  smile  of  welcome. 

Italy  became  a  favorite  country  to  the  Queen,  and  she  espe- 
cially enjoyed  Florence,  largely  from  the  fact  that  it  had  been  a 
favorite  place  to  Prince  Albert.  She  made  several  visits  to  that 
city,  where  she  spent  her  mornings  there  at  times  in  the  picture 


JOURNEYS  IN  FOREIGN  LANDS  203 

galleries,  through  whose  rooms  she  was  moved  in  a  wheeled  chair ; 
at  times  in  the  park,  where  she  enjoyed  taking  an  airing.  Lunch  fol- 
lowed, and  after  it  the  drive,  which  was  rendered  less  agreeable  by 
the  crowd  which  gathered  to  see  her.  One  of  these  drives  is  thus 
described : 

"  The  road  in  front  of  the  Villa  Fabriccttl  Is  becoming  crowded 
with  English  and  Italians,  for  it  is  nearly  four  o'clock,  and  the 
Queen  is  expected.  After  some  time,  wheels  are  heard.  All  stand 
up  to  make  their  obeisance,  when  a  turbaned  Indian  drives  out  of 
the  gate  in  a  carriage  with  some  mysterious  leather  boxes  on  the 
front  seat,  which  everybody  now  knows  contains  the  Queen's  tea 
equipage  ;  only  this,  and  nothing  more.  At  length  an  outrider 
appears,  and  after  him  a  carriage,  in  which  one  sees,  as  it  quickly 
passes,  a  black  parasol,  a  white  hat  and  veil,  and,  beside  the  lady 
thus  distinguished,  the  outline  of  another  presence. 

"  Her  Majesty  likes  to  drive  into  the  country  among  the  vine- 
yards. She  visits  village  churches,  talks  to  the  priests,  looks  at 
their  quaint  processions,  and  accepts  flowers  from  the  children.  She 
has  been  seen  driving  along  with  an  outrider  in  spotless  state 
before  her,  but  a  ragged  boy,  if  not  two,  coiled  round  the  carriage 
bar  behind  !  After  one  of  these  continental  tours,  the  writer  visited 
the  place,  and  was  told  by  some  of  the  people  that  they  had  no 
fear  of  her  Majesty,  and  that  she  gave  no  trouble.  It  was  the  dig- 
nity of  the  Indian  servants  that  overawed  them." 

The  places  in  which  the  Queen  spent  her  holidays  never  failed 
to  receive  some  substantial  favor  in  remembrance.  On  one  of  her 
late  visits  to  Florence,  for  instance,  she  left  6,000  francs  for  the 
poor  and  a  contribution  to  the  English  church.  A  gold  snuff-box 
was  presented  to  the  chief  of  police,  scarf-pins  to  the  other  officers, 
a  rich  present  to  the  postmaster,  and  100  francs  to  each  of  the 
mounted  guards  who  had  ridden  beside  the  Queen's  carriage  in  her 
afternoon  drives. 

Of  the  Queen's  visits  to  the  Continent  there  was  one  that  had 
in  it  the  elements  of  a  domestic  drama,  and  which  is  worthy  of 


204  JOURNEYS  IN  FOREIGN  LANDS 

being  told  at  greater  length.  It  occurred  in  1884,  and  was  attended 
by  a  decided  manifestation  of  Queen  Victoria's  strength  of  will  and 
the  arbitrary  disposition  which  developed  in  her  as  she  grew  olden 
The  first  act. in  the  drama  was  the  death  on  December  14,  1878,  of 
the  Princess  Alice,  Victoria's  second  daughter,  and  wife  of  the 
Grand  Duke  of  Hes^  Darmstadt. 

AN    EXCITING    DRAMA 

After  the  death  of  his  wife,  the  Grand  Duke  seems  to  have 
paid  much  attention  to  Madame  de  Kalomine,  wife  of  the  Russian 
charge  <£  affairs  at  Darmstadt.  This  handsome  woman  had  given 
her  husband  no  little  trouble,  he  having  already  had  to  fight  three 
duels  on  her  account.  The  Grand  Duke's  admiration  led  to  a  scene 
in  which  the  lady  herself  was  the  sufferer.  Warned  by  an  anony- 
mous letter,  he  met  her  as  she  was  riding  home  alone  from  a  tete-a- 
tete  promenade  with  the  Grand  Duke  in  the  Heiligenberg  woods, 
and  accused  her  of  being  the  paramour  of  the  sovereign  at  whose 
Court  he  was  accredited  ;  he  lashed  her  face  repeatedly  with  his 
riding-whip,  causing  her  horse  to  bolt.  Falling  from-  her  saddle 
and  slightly  injured,  she  was  carried  home,  and  remained  confined 
three  weeks  to  her  bed  with  an  attack  of  brain  fever.  On  her 
recovery  she  found  that  in  consequence  of  a  private  telegram  from 
the  Grand  Duke  her  husband  had  been  recalled,  and  had  been 
dispatched  on  a  special  mission  to  Japan. 

About  a  week  after  Mme.  de  Kalomine's  recovery  the  Grand 
Duke  visited  her,  and  having  declared  his  love,  urged  her  to  ask 
for  a  divorce  on  the  ground  of  her  husband's  ill-treatment,  and 
afterward  to  marry  him.  Louis  IV.  of  Hesse-Darmstadt,  who  was 
then  only  a  little  over  forty  years  old,  was  still  one  of  the  hand- 
somest and  finest  specimens  of  manhood  in  Europe,  and  it  was  not 
difficult  for  him  to  persuade  her  to  separate  from  M.  de  Kalomine, 
who,  with  his  correctly-trimmed  whiskers,  short,  stout  figure,  and 
generally  graceless  appearance,  presented  but  a  sorry  contrast  to 
the  Grand  Duke. 


JOURNEYS  IN  FOREIGN  LANDS  205 

Ten  months  later,  in  the  spring  of  1884,  Mme.  de  Kalomine 
obtained  her  divorce,  and  the  date  on  which  she  was  free  to  marry 
again  fell  just  two  days  before  that  fixed  for  the  wedding  of  Prin- 
cess Victoria  of  Hesse  to  Prince  Louis  of  Battenberg.  Mme.  de 
Kalomine  lived  so  retired  and  quietly  during  the  whole  time  that 
although  the  Grand  Duke's  admiration  for  her  was  whispered 
about  the  city,  nobody  dreamed  that  anything  serious  was  about  to 
happen. 

The  day  before  the  arrival  of  Queen  Victoria  to  attend  the 
wedding  of  her  granddaughter,  Mme.  de  Kalomine  entreated  the 
Grand  Duke  to  hesitate  before  finally  uniting  himself  to  her.  She 
had  fears  as  to  the  future,  and  reminded  him  that  Queen  Victoria 
was  most  anxious  that  he  should  marry  Princess  Beatrice  as  soon 
as  ever  the  "  Deceased  Wife's  Sister  Bill "  had  been  passed  in  the 
English  Parliament.  The  Grand  Duke  smilingly  remarked  in  reply 
that  his  respected  mother-in-law  would  know  nothing  about  the 
matter  until  after  the  ceremony,  when  it  would  be  too  late  for  any 
kind  of  obstruction. 

On  the  following  day  Queen  Victoria  reached  Darmstadt  with 
Princess  Beatrice.  At  length  the  day — April  30,  1884 — fixed  for 
the  marriage  of  Princess  Victoria  arrived.  The  wedding  was  to 
take  place  without  much  pomp  and  ceremony  in  the  evening.  At 
1 1  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  same  day  the  secret  marriage 
between  the  Grand  Duke  and  Mme.  de  Kalomine  took  place  in  the 
Palace  Chapel.  The  only  persons  present  were  the  Ministers  of 
Justice  and  of  the  Interior.  At  the  moment  of  the  benediction  a 
terrible  thunder-storm  appeared  to  predict  troubles  and  sorrows  to 
the  newly-married  couple,  who  immediately  retired  to  the  very 
room  used  by  the  late  Princess  Alice  as  her  boudoir,  where  they 
remained  several  hours,  while  the  old  Minister  of  the  Interior 
guarded  the  door,  frightened  out  of  his  wits  lest  the  Queen  should 
notice  her  son-in-law's  prolonged  absence. 

At  5  o'clock  the  grand  ceremony  of  Princess  Victoria's  mar- 
riage took  place.  The  royal  cortege  entered  the  chapel,  the  Grand 

i* 


206  JOURNEYS  IN  FOREIGN  LANDS 

Duke  leading  his  daughter,  the  Queen  following  alone,  then  Prin- 
cess Beatrice,  and  following  her  the  Crown  Prince  and  Princess  of 
Germany,  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales,  the  Battenberg 
/amily,  etc. 

ALMOST    A    SCANDAL 

The  Queen  was  not  present  at  the  subsequent  State  banquet, 
preferring  to  dine  alone  with  her  younger  grandchildren.  Sud- 
denly about  1 1  o'clock  at  night,  when  she  was  about  to  retire  to 
rest,  the  Crown  Prince  of  Germany  arrived  and  demanded  an  im- 
mediate audience  on  matters  of  the  very  highest  importance.  The 
Queen,  frightened  by  the  agitation  depicted  on  his  countenance, 
exclaimed,  "Good  heavens,  Fritz,  what  has  happened?"  In  a  few 
words  he  informed  her  of  the  secret  marriage  which  had  taken 
place  in  the  morning.  On  hearing  this  the  Queen  uttered  a  ter- 
rible cry.  What !  the  husband  of  her  favorite  daughter  Alice  had 
dared  to  desecrate  the  memory  of  his  dead  wife  by  marrying  a 
divorced  woman — a  mere  nobody  !  She  became  so  red  in  the  face  and 
experienced  such  difficulty  in  getting  her  breath  that  the  Crown 
Prince>  fearing  an  apoplectic  fit, was  about  to  summon  help,  when 
she  stopped  him.  "  Where  are  they  now  ?'"  she  exclaimed. 

The  Prince  informed  her  that  they  had  retired  to  rest  over 
two  hours  ago.  Furiously  the  old  lady  tore  open  her  door,  and 
was  about  to  rush  to  the  Grand  Duke's  apartments,  when  the 
Crown  Prince,  foreseeing  the  scandal  which  would  ensue,  held  her 
back  by  main  force  until  she  had  become  a  little  more  calm.  She 
then  decided  to  summon  the  Grand  Duke  to  her  presence. 

The  latter  was  suddenly  awakened  from  his  sweet  slumbers  by 
the  knocking  at  the  door  of  a  chamberlain,  who,  in  trembling 
accents,  informed  his  master  that  the  Queen  insisted  on  his  appear- 
ance before  her  at  once.  His  wife,  very  rightly  fearing  the  worst, 
dung  to  him  in  despair,  crying  that  she  would  never  see  him  again. 
Her  husband  soothed  her  with  promises  as  best  he  could,  and 
twenty  minutes  later  stood  in  the  presence  of  his  irate  mother-in- 
law,  with  whom  were  gathered  the  Crown  Prince  and  Princess  of 


JOURNEYS  IN  FOREIGN  LANDS  207 

Germany,   Princess    Beatrice,  and    his  own   Ministers  of   Foreign 
Affairs  and  of  Justice  whom  the  Queen  had  summoned. 

"You  must  drive  that  horrible  woman  away  this  very  night," 
exclaimed  the  latter,  "  and  you  must  sign  this  decree  of  expulsion 
which  I  have  already  had  drawn  up  by  your  Ministers.  Good  God  ! 
if  I  could  drive  the  creature  out  of  the  place  with  my  own  hands," 
shrieked  the  Queen  frantically.  The  Grand  Duke,  who,  although 
a  giant  in  stature,  was  blessed  with  the  weakest  of  characters,  and 
had  absolutely  no  strength  of  mind,  after  some  hesitation  gave  way 
to  his  mother-in-law's  wrath  and  signed  the  document. 

His  bride,  who,  notwithstanding  her  fright,  had  finally  dropped 
off  to  sleep,  was  awakened  about  two  hours  later  by  the  disa- 
greeable old  grand-mistress  of  the  robes,  who  communicated  to  her 
in  the  most  offensive  manner  possible  the  royal  decree  of  expul- 
sion and  stated  that  she  had  orders  not  to  leave  her  until  she  left 
the  Palace.  The  unfortunate  woman,  on  seeing  her  husband's  signa- 
ture to  the  document,  understood  that  she  was  forsaken  by  the 
man  who,  but  a  few  hours  previously,  had  sworn  to  love  and  protect 
her.  While  she  was  hurriedly  dressing,  with  the  assistance  of  her 
Russian  maid,  a  post-chaise,  with  an  escort  of  about  forty  mounted 
police,  stopped  at  the  nearest  door  of  the  Palace,  and  she  was 
hustled  into  it  and  rapidly  driven  to  the  nearest  frontier.  The 
only  person  to  wish  her  God-speed  was  the  old  nurse  of  Princess 
Elizabeth  (subsequent  Grand  Duchess  Serge  of  Russia),  who  con- 
veyed messages  of  sympathy  and  affection  from  her  young  mistress 
to  the  unfortunate  woman,  and  brought  to  her  the  Princess' own 
rug,  as  the  night  was  bitterly  cold.  As  she  drove  away  she  caught 
a  glimpse  of  the  pale  face  of  her  husband  peering  out  from  the 
•window  while  at  the  next  she  perceived  the  angry  face  of  the 
Queen. 

The  ex-Mme.  de  Kalomine  took  refuge  at  a  convent  just 
across  the  frontier.  Two  days  later  a  Royal  messenger  arrived 
bearing  a  written  offer  on  the  part  of  the  Grand  Duke  to  create 
her  Countess  of  Romrod,  and  to  confer  on  her  the  estate  of  the 


208  JOURNEYS  IN  FOREIGN  LANDS 

same  name,  on  the  condition  that  she  would  surrender  all  her  rights 
as  wife  of  the  sovereign,  and  never  again  set  foot  within  his 
dominions. 

She  contented  herself  with  returning  the  letter  with  an 
indorsement  to  the  effect  "  that  the  Grand  Duke's  wife  is  not  pre- 
pared to  sell  her  rights."  Summoning  the  leader  of  the  opposition 
party  at  Darmstadt,  who  happened  to  be  a  very  clever  lawyer,  she 
placed  the  whole  matter  in  his  hands.  The  latter  commenced  by 
having  a  certified  copy  of  the  marriage,  with  the  Grand  Duke's 
signature,  published  in  all  the  German  papers,  and  then  proceeded 
to  defend  his  client  in  the  action  for  divorce,  on  the  ground  of 

o 

incompatibility  of  temper,  which  the  Grand  Duke  had  brought 
against  her.  So  cleverly  was  she  defended,  that  the  action  was 
about  to  fall  to  the  ground,  when,  at  the  last  moment,  the  presid- 
ing Judge,  won  over,  by  the  promise  of  a  much  coveted  title  of 
nobility,  suddenly  remembered  that  the  Grand  Duke  held  a  com- 
mand in  the  German  army,  and  that  officers  are  not  allowed  to 
marry  without  the  Emperor's  permission.  On  these  preposterous 
grounds  the  marriage  was  declared  annulled  and  illegal  and  the 
divorce  decreed. 

Immediately  after  the  expulsion  of  the  newly-married  wife  the 
Queen  carried  her  recreant  son-in-law  off  to  England,  and  took  him 
to  Balmoral,  keeping  him  there  for  over  three  months.  By  that 
time  he  had  got  over  any  feelings  of  regret  for  his  beautiful  wife. 
The  whole  story  was  afterwards  told  in  a  book,  entitled  ll  Roi  de 
Thessalie,"  supposed  to  be  written  by  the  doubly  divorced  woman 
herself,  in  which  the  characters  were  transparently  veiled  under 
fictitious  names  whose  significance  was  evident 


PRINCE  ALBERT  DEER-STALKING  IN  THE  HIGHLANDS 


PRINCE  ALBERT  HUNTING  NEAR  BELVOIR  CASTLE 


CHAPTER  XIII 

Notable  Events  in  the  Queen's  Life 

THE  long  reign  of  the   Queen  was   marked  by  many  notable 
events  which,  although  we  may  not  give  them  separate  treat- 
ment, yet  deserve  limited  mention  ;  for  she  and  her  Ministers 
spent  many  anxious  hours  in  seeking  to  wisely  guide  the  course  of 
events.     A  few  of  these  we  sketch  in  this  chapter,  and  at  such  length 
as  will  give  a  clear  understanding  of  each. 

AN    ABSURD    SYSTEM    OF    POSTAL    SERVICE 

When  Victoria  ascended  the  throne,  the  postal  system  was  an 
absurdity.  The  rates  of  postage  were  high  and  various.  They 
varied  both  as  to  distance  and  as  to  the  weight  and  even  the  size 
or  the  shape  of  a  letter.  The  London  postal  district  was  a 
separate  branch  of  the  postal  department  and  the  charge  for 
the  transmission  of  letters  was  made  on  a  different  scale  in  London 
from  that  which  prevailed  between  town  and  town.  Then  if  the 
letter  were  written  on  more  than  one  sheet  of  paper,  it  was  subject 
to  a  higher  scale  of  charge.  But  the  worst  evil  was  the  privilege 
possessed  by  members  of  Parliament  of  franking  letters  to  a  certain 
limited  extent,  and  by  members  of  the  government  of  franking  to  an 
unlimited  extent.  Franking  was  the  right  of  sending  letters  through 
the  post  free  of  charge  by  merely  writing  one's  name  on  the  out- 
side. The  privileged  person  could  send  both  his  own  and  any 
other's  letters  through  the  mail  in  this  way.  This  simply  meant 
that  the  letters  of  the  class  who  could  best  afford  to  pay  for  them 
went  free  of  charge,  and  that  those  who  could  least  afford  to  pay  had 
to  pay  double,  for  they  had  to  bear  the  expense  of  carrying  their 
own  letters  and  those  of  the  privileged  as  well. 

•ii 


ai2  NOTABLE  EVENTS  IN  THE  QUEEN'S  LIFE 

The  greatest  grievances  were  felt  everywhere  because  of  this 
absurd  system.  It  had,  along  with  its  other  disadvantages,  that  of 
encouraging  what  may  be  called  the  smuggling  of  letters.  Every- 
where sprang  up  organizations  for  the  illicit  conveyance  of  corre- 
spondence at  lower  rates  than  those  imposed  by  the  Government. 
The  proprietors  of  almost  every  kind  of  public  conveyance  are 
said  to  have  been  engaged  in  this  unlawful,  but  certainly  not  very 
unnatural  or  unjustifiable  traffic.  Five-sixths  of  all  the  letters  sent 
between  Manchester  and  London  were  said  to  have  been  conveyed 
fW  years  by  this  process.  One  great  mercantile  house  was  proved 
to  have  been  in  the  habit  of  sending  sixty-seven  letters  by  what  we 
may  call  this  underground  postoffice,  for  every  one  on  which  they 
paid  the  government  charges.  Newspapers  were  marked  with  dots 
and  other  understood  symbols,  which  conveyed  a  few  general  facts 
from  the  sender  to  the  recipient.  It  was  not  merely  to  escape  heavy 
cost  that  these  stratagems  were  employed.  As  there  was  an 
additional  charge  when  a  letter  was  written  on  more  sheets  than  one, 
there  was  a  frequent  and  almost  a  constant  tampering  by  officials 
with  the  sanctity  of  sealed  letters  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
whether  or  not  they  ought  to  be  taxed  on  the  higher  scale. 

A    BETTER    SYSTEM    ESTABLISHED 

Mr.  (afterward  Sir)  Rowland  Hill  is  the  man  to  whom  Eng- 
land, and  indeed  all  civilization,  owes  the  adoption  of  a  better  sys- 
tem. When  a  little  weakly  child,  he  began  to  show  a  precocious 
love  for  arithmetical  calculations.  His  favorite  amusement  was 
to  lie  on  the  hearthrug  and  count  up  figures  by  the  hour  together. 
As  he  grew  up  he  became  teacher  of  mathematics  in  his  father's 
school. 

Afterward  he  was  appointed  secretary  to  the  South  Australian 
Commission,  and  rendered  much  valuable  service  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  colony  of  South  Australia.  His  early  love  of  masses 
of  figures  it  may  have  been  that  in  the  first  instance  turned  his 
attention  to  the  number  of  letters  passing  through  the  post-office, 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  IN  THE  QUEEN'S  LIFE  213 

the  proportion  they  bore  to  the  number  of  the  population,  the  cost 
of  carrying  them,  and  the  amount  which  the  post-office  authorities 
charged  for  the  conveyance  of  a  single  letter.  A  picturesque  and 
touching  little  illustration  of  the  veritable  hardships  of  the  existing 
system  seems  to  have  quickened  his  interest  in  a  reform  of  it.  Miss 
Martineau  thus  tells  the  story  : 

"  Coleridge,  when  a  young  man,  was  walking  through  the  lake 
district,  when  he  one  day  saw  the  postman  deliver  a  letter  to  a 
woman  at  a  cottage  door.  The  woman  turned  it  over  and 
examined  it,  and  then  returned  it,  saying  she  could  not  pay  the 
postage,  which  was  a  shilling.  Hearing  that  the  letter  was  from 
her  brother,  Coleridge  paid  the  postage,  in  spite  of  the  manifest 
unwillingness  of  the  woman.  As  soon  as  the  postman  was  out  of 
sight  she  showed  Coleridge  how  his  money  had  been  wasted,  as  far 
as  she  was  concerned.  The  sheet  was  blank.  There  was  an  agree- 
ment between  her  brother  and  herself  that  as  long  as  all  went  well 
with  him  he  should  send  a  blank  sheet  in  this  way  once  a  quarter ; 
and  she  thus  had  tidings  of  him  without  expense  of  postage. 
Most  persons  would  have  remembered  this  incident  as  a  curious 
story  to  tell ;  but  there  was  one  mind  which  wakened  up  at  once 
to  a  sense  of  the  significance  of  the  fact.  It  struck  Mr.  Rowland 
Hill  that  there  must  be  something  wrong  in  a  system  which  drove 
a  brother  and  sister  to  cheating  in  order  to  gratify  their  desire  to 
hear  of  one  another's  welfare." 

Mr.  Hill  gradually  worked  out  for  himself  a  comprehensive 
scheme  of  reform.  He  put  it  before  the  world  early  in  1837. 
The  public  were  taken  by  surprise  when  the  plan  came  before  them 
in  the  shape  of  a  pamphlet  which  its  author  modestly  entitled 
"  Post-office  Reform ;  its  importance  and  practicability."  The 
root  of  Mr.  Hill's  system  lay  in  the  fact,  made  evident  by  him 
beyond  dispute,  that  the  actual  cost  of  the  conveyance  of  letters 
through  the  post  was  very  trifling,  and  was  but  little  increased  by 
the  distance  over  which  they  had  to  be  carried- 


2i4  NOTABLE  EVENTS  IN  THE  QUEEN'S  LIFE 

His  proposal  was  therefore  that  the  rates  of  postage  should 
be  diminished  to  the  minimum  ;  that  at  the  same  time  the  speed  of 
conveyance  should  be  increased,  and  that  there  should  be  much 
greater  frequency  of  despatch.  His  principle  was,  in  fact,  the  very 
opposite  of  that  which  had  prevailed  in  the  calculations  of  the 
authorities.  Their  idea  was  that  the  higher  the  charge  for  letters 
the  greater  the  return  to  the  revenue.  He  started  on  the  assump- 
tion that  the  smaller  the  charge  the  greater  the  profit.  He  there- 
fore recommended  the  substitution  of  a  uniform  charge  of  one 
penny  (equal  to  two  cents  of  our  money)  per  half-ounce,  without 
reference  to  the  distance  within  the  limits  of  the  United  Kingdom 
which  the  letter  had  to  be  carried.  The  plan  met  the  uncompro- 
mising opposition  of  the  post-office  authorities  but  was  finally 
authorized  by  Parliament  in  1840,  the  only  changes  being  the 
device  of  prepayment  by  stamps  and  the  preservation  of  the  frank- 
ing privilege  for  official  letters  sent  on  business  directly  belonging 
to  her  Majesty's  service. 

Some  idea  of  the  effect  it  has  produced  upon  the  postal  corre- 
spondence of  the  country  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  in 
1839,  tne  last  year  °f  the  heavy  postage,  the  number  of  letters 
delivered  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  was  a  little  more  than 
eighty-two  millions,  which  included  some  five  millions  and  a  half  of 
franked  letters  returning  nothing  to  the  revenues  of  the  country  ; 
whereas,  in  1900,  nearly  two  thousand  millions  of  letters  were 
delivered  in  the  United  Kingdom.  The  population  during  the 
same  time  had  not  nearly  doubled  itself.  The  principle  of  this 
reform  has  since  been  put  into  operation  in  every  civilized  country 
in  the  world  and  we  shall  probably  see,  before  long,  an  inter-oceanic 
postage  rate  as  low  as  the  one  people  sometimes  thought  Sir  Row- 
land Hill  a  madman  for  recommending  for  a  small  inland  post. 

Few  of  us  of  the  twentieth  century  understand  why  it  was 
that  the  loth  of  April,  1848,  was  a  memorable  day  in  England, 
it  marks  the  ignominious  collapse  of  a  movement  which  threw 
Condon  into  wild  alarm.  Public  preparations  had  been 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  IN  THE  QUEEN'S  LIFE  215 

/gainst  an  outbreak  of  an  armed  and  furious  populace.  The  Duke 
of  Wellington,  the  hero  of  Waterloo,  had  taken  charge  of  arrange- 
ments for  guarding  the  public  buildings  and  defending  the  metrop- 
olis generally.  A  vast  number  of  Londoners  had  enrolled  them- 
selves as  special  constables  for  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order. 
Nearly  200,000  persons,  it  is  said,  were  sworn  in  for  this  purpose. 
An  odd  incident  of  the  famous  scare  was  that  the  French  prince 
Louis  Napoleon,  who  was  then  living  in  London,  was  one  of  those 
who  volunteered  to  bear  arms  in  preserving  order.  Various  remote 
quarters  of  London  were  filled  with  horrifying  reports  of  encounters 
between  the  insurgents  and  the  police  or  the  military,  in  which  the 
former  invariably  had  the  better  of  it,  and,  as  a  result,  were  march- 
ing in  full  force  to  the  particular  district  where  the  momentary 
panic  prevailed. 

"THE  PEOPLE'S  CHARTER." 

The  cause  of  the  unusual  alarm — an  alarm  perhaps  unparal- 
leled in  the  great  city — was  the  determination  of  the  Chartists  to 
present  a  monster  petition  to  the  House  of  Commons  making  cer- 
tain demands,  and,  in  fact,  offering  Parliament  a  last  chance  to  yield 
quietly  to  the  programme. 

The  Chartists  had  arisen  early  in  the  reign.  The  winter  of 
i837-'3S  was  one  of  unusual  seventy  and  distress.  There  would 
have  been  much  discontent  and  grumbling  in  any  case  among  the 
class  described  by  French  writers  as  the  proletaire;  but  the  com- 
plaints were  aggravated  by  a  common  belief  that  the  young  Queen 
was  wholly  under  the  influence  of  a  frivolous  and  selfish  Minister, 
who  occupied  her  with  amusements  while  the  poor  were  starving. 
It  does  not  appear  that  there  was  at  anytime  the  slightest  justifica- 
tion for  such  a  belief ;  but  it  prevailed  among  the  working  classes 
and  the  poor  very  generally,  and  added  to  the  sufferings  of  genuine 
want  the  bitterness  of  imaginary  wrong.  Popular  education  was 
little  looked  after ;  so  far  as  the  State  was  concerned,  might  be  said 
not  to  be  looked  after  at  all.  The  laws  of  political  economy  were 


216  NOTABLE  EVENTS  IN  THE  QUEEN'S  LIFE 

as  yet  only  within  the  appreciation  of  a  few,  who  were  regarded 
not  uncommonly,  because  of  their  theories,  somewhat  as  phrenolo- 
gists or  mesmerists  might  be  looked  on  in  a  more  enlightened  time. 

FOLLOWING  THE  CORONATION  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Only  a  few  weeks  after  the  coronation  of  the  Queen  a  great 
Radical  meeting  was  held  in  Birmingham.  A  manifesto  was  adopted 
there  which  afterwards  came  to  be  known  as  the  Chartist  petition. 
With  that  movement  Chartism  began  to  be  one  of  the  most  dis- 
turbing influences  of  the  political  life  of  the  country.  It  sometimes 
seemed  to  threaten  an  actual  uprising  of  all  the  proletaire  against 
what  were  then  the  political  and  social  institutions  of  the  country. 
It  might  have  been  a  very  serious  danger  if  the  state  had  been 
involved  in  any  external  difficulties.  It  was  backed  by  much  genuine 
enthusiasm,  passion,  and  intelligence.  It  appealed  strongly  and 
naturally  to  whatever  there  was  of  discontent  among  the  working 
classes.  Thousands  of  ignorant  and  miserable  men  all  over  the 
country  joined  the  Chartist  agitation  who  cared  nothing  about  the 
substantial  value  of  its  political  claims.  They  were  poor,  they  were 
overworked,  they  were  badly  paid,  their  lives  were  altogether 
wretched.  They  got  into  their  heads  some  wild  idea  that  the 
people's  charter  would  give  them  better  food  and  wages  and  lighter 
work  if  it  were  obtained,  and  that  for  that  very  reason  the  aristo- 
crats and  the  officials  would  not  grant  it.  No  political  concessions 
could  really  have  satisfied  these  men.  If  the  charter  had  been 
granted  in  1838,  they  would  no  doubt  have  been  as  dissatisfied 
as  ever  in  1839. 

A  conference  was  held  in  1 83  7, between  a  few  of  the  Liberal  mem- 
bers of  Parliament  who  professed  Radical  opinions  and  some  of  the 
leaders  of  the  working-men.  At  this  conference  the  programme, 
or  what  was  afterwards  known  as  the  "Charter,"  was  agreed  upon 
and  drawn  up.  The  name  of  "  Charter  "  appears  to  have  been  given 
to  it  for  the  first  time  by  O'Connell.  "  There's  your  Charter,"  he  said 
i  to  the  secretary  of  the  Working  Men's  Association  ;  "  agitate  for 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  IN  THE  QUEEN'S  LIFE  217 

it,  and  never  be  content  with  anything  less."  It  is  a  great  thing 
accomplished  in  political  agitation  to  have  found  a  telling  name.  A 
name  is  almost  as  important  for  a  new  agitation  as  for  a  new  novel. 
The  title  of  "  The  People's  Charter"  would  of  itself  have  launched 
the  movement. 

Quietly  studied  now,  the  People's  Charter  does  not  seem  a 
very  formidable  document.  There  is  little  smell  of  gunpowder 
about  it.  Its  "points,"  as  they  were  called,  were  six.  Manhood 
suffrage  came  first.  It  was  then  called  universal  suffrage,  but  it 
only  meant  manhood  suffrage,  for  the  promoters  of  the  movement 
had  not  the  slightest  idea  of  insisting  on  the  franchise  for  women. 
The  second  was  annual  Parliaments.  Vote  by  ballot  was  the  third. 
Abolition  of  the  property  qualification  (then  and  for  many  years 
after  required  for  the  election  of  a  member  to  Parliament)  was  the 
fourth.  The  payment  of  members  was  the  fifth,  and  the  division  of 
the  country  into  equal  electoral  districts,  the  sixth  of  the  famous 
points.  Of  these  proposals  some,  it  will  be  seen,  were  perfectly 
reasonable.  Three  of  them — manhood  suffrage,  vote  by  ballot, 
and  abolition  of  the  property  qualification — have  now  been  made 
part  of  the  English  constitutional  system.  Half  of  the  demands 
have  thus  been  crystallized  into  law. 

THE    GREAT    MASS    MEETING 

The  Chartist  movement  had  a  solid  basis  in  the  real  economic 
evils  from  which  the  working  classes  were  suffering,  but,  as  such 
agitation  always  tends  to  do,  it  gathered  and  roused  the  disciples 
of  mere  discontent,  who  applauded  the  leaders  who  talked  loudest 
and  fiercest  against  the  law-makers  and  the  constituted  authorities. 
It  was  this  feature  of  the  movement — naturally  the  most  prominent 
feature — which  made  London  tremble  at  the  prospect  of  the  1848 
mass  meeting.  The  petition  was  to  be  presented  by  a  deputation 
who  were  to  be  conducted  by  a  vast  procession  up  to  the  doors  of 
the  House  of  Commons.  The  procession  was  to  be  formed  on 
Kennington  Common,  the  space  then  unenclosed  which  is  now 


2i8  NOTABLE  EVENTS  IN  THE  QUEEN'S  LIFE 

Kennington  Park,  on  the  south  side  of  London.  Thei>  tht 
tists  were  to  be  addressed  by  their  trusted  leaden  Feargus 
O'Connor,  and  then  they  were  to  march  in  militaiy  order  to  present 
their  petition.  The  object  undoubtedly  was  to  make  such  a  parade 
of  physical  force  as  to  overawe  Parliament  and  the  government, 
and  demonstrate  the  impossibility  of  refusing  a  demand  backed  by 
such  a  reserve  of  power.  There  were  many  of  the  Chartists  who 
hoped  for  something  more  than  a  mere  demonstration  of  physical 
force  and  who  would  have  been  heartily  glad  if  some  untimely  or 
unreasonable  interference  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  had  led  to 
a  collision.  Now  carne  the  great  failure.  The  proposed  proces- 
sion was  declared  illegal  and  all  peaceful  and  loyal  subjects  were 
warned  not  to  take  any  part  in  it.  This  doomed  the  demonstra- 
tion, for  it  divided  the  Chartists.  Many  of  them  desired  to  parade 
in  defiance  of  the  order,  but  O'Connor  strongly  insisted. on  obedi- 
ence to  the  commands  of  the  authorities. 

THE    GREAT    CHARTIST    PETITION 

The  separation  of  the  Chartists  who  wanted  force  from  those 
who  wanted  orderly  proceedings  reduced  the  project  to  nothing. 
The  meeting  on  Kennington  Common,  so  far  from  being  a  gather- 
ing of  half  a  million  of  men,  was  not  a  larger  concourse  than  a 
temperance  demonstration  had  often  drawn  together  on  the  same 
spot.  Some  twenty  or  twenty-five  thousand  persons  were  on  Ken- 
nington Common,  of  whom  at  least  half  were  said  to  be  mere 
lookers-on,  come  to  see  what  was  to  happen,  and  caring  nothing 
whatever  about  the  "  People's  Charter." 

The  great  Chartist  petition  itself,  which  was  to  have  made  so 
profound  an  impression  on  the  House  of  Commons,  proved  as  utter 
a  failure  as  the  demonstration  on  Kennington  Common.  Mr. 
O'Connor  in  presenting  this  portentous  document  boasted  that  it 
would  be  found  to  have  five  million  seven  hundred  thousand 
signatures  in  round  numbers.  The  calculation  was  made  in  very 
round  numbers  indeed.  The  committee  on  public  petitions  were 


THE  FOUNTAIN  COURT 
In  Hampton  Palace 


HAMPTON  COURT— SOUTH  FRONT 
Famous  in  the  History  oi  England  as  the  Home  ot  King* 


WINDSOR  CASTLE  FROM  THE  THAMt-S 


THE  LONG  WALK— WINDSOR  CASTLE 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  IN  THE  QUEEN'S  LIFE  221 

requested  to  make  a  minute  examination  of  the  document  and  to 
report  to  the  House  of  Commons.  The  committee  called  in  the 
services  of  a  little  army  of  law-stationers'  clerks,  and  went  to  work 
to  analyze  the  signatures.  They  found,  to  begin  with,  that  the 
whole  number  of  signatures,  genuine  or  otherwise,  fell  short  of  two 
millions.  But  that  was  not  all.  The  committee  found  in  many 
cases  that  whole  sheets  of  the  petition  were  signed  by  one  hand. 
It  did  not  need  much  investigation  to  prove  that  a  large  proportion 
of  the  signatures  were  not  genuine.  The  name  of  the  Queen,  of 
Prince  Albert,  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  Lord 
John  Russell,  Colonel  Sibthorp,  and  various  other  public  per- 
sonages, appeared  again  and  again  on  the  Chartist  roll. 

Some  of  these  eminent  persons  would  appear  to  have  carried 
their  zeal  for  the  People's  Charter  so  far  as  to  keep  signing  their 
names  untiringly  all  over  the  petition.  A  large  number  of  yet 
stranger  allies  would  seem  to  have  been  drawn  to  the  cause  of  the 
charter.  "  Cheeks  the  Marine  "  was  a  personage  very  familiar  at 
that  time  to  the  readers  of  Captain  Marryat's  sea  stories  ;  and  the 
name  of  that  mythical  hero  appeared  with  bewildering  iteration  in 
the  petition.  So  did  "Davy  Jones;"  so  did  various  persons 
describing  themselves  as  Pugnose,  Flatnose,  Wooden-legs,  and  by 
other  such  epithets,  acknowledging  curious  personal  defects.  We 
need  not  describe  the  laughter  and  scorn  which  these  revelations 
produced.  There  really  was  not  anything  very  marvelous  in  the 
discovery.  The  petition  was  got  up  in  great  haste,  and  with  almost 
utter  carelessness.  Its  sheets  used  to  be  sent  anywhere,  and  left 
lying  about  anywhere,  on  a  chance  of  obtaining  signatures.  The 
temptation  to  schoolboys  and  practical  jokers  of  all  kinds  was  irre- 
sistible. Wherever  there  was  a  mischievous  hand  that  could  get 
hold  of  a  pen,  there  was  some  name  of  a  royal  personage  or 
some  Cheeks  the  Marine  at  once  added  to  the  muster-roll  of  the 
Chartists. 

The  effect  of  this  unlucky  petition  was  conclusive.  The  terror 
of  the  agitation  was  gone.  More  than  that,  the  humiliation  of  the 


222  NOTABLE  EVENTS  IN  THE  QUEEN'S  LIFE 

whole  movement  was  so  overwhelming  that  Chartism  was  thence- 
forth a  subject  only  for  ridicule.  So  sudden  and  complete  was  its 
descent  from  terrible  respectability  to  ignominious  folly  that  it  was 
drowned  in  a  sea  of  laughter  and  buried  in  an  eternal  oblivion. 

TROUBLES    IN    CHINA    AND    THE    OPIUM     WAR 

The  opium  dispute  with  China  was  going  on  when  the  Queen 
came  to  the  throne.  The  Opium  War  broke  out  soon  after.  On 
March  3,  1843,  five  huge  wagons,  each  of  them  drawn  by  four  horses, 
and  the  whole  under  escort  of  a  detachment  of  the  Sixtieth  Regiment, 
arrived  in  front  of  the  Mint.  An  immense  crowd  followed  the  wagons. 
It  was  seen  that  they  were  filled  with  boxes  ;  and  one  of  the  boxes, 
having  been  somewhat  broken  in  its  journey,  the  crowd  were  able  to 
see  that  it  was  crammed  full  of  odd-looking  silver  coins.  The  look- 
ers-on were  delighted,  as  well  as  amused,  by  the  sight  of  this  huge  con- 
signment of  treasure  ;  and  when  it  became  known  that  the  silver 

o 

money  was  the  first  instalment  of  the  China  ransom,  there  were  lusty 
cheers  given  as  the  wagons  passed  through  the  gates  of  the  Mint. 
This  was  a  payment  on  account  of  the  war  indemnity  imposed  on 
China.  Nearly  twenty-two  and  a  half  million  dollars  was  the  sum  of 
the  indemnity,  in  addition  to  one  million  and  a  quarter  which  had 
already  been  paid  by  the  Chinese  authorities.  Many  readers  may 
remember  that  for  some  time  "  China  money  "  was  regularly  set 
down  as  an  item  in  the  revenues  of  each  year  with  which  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer  had  to  deal.  The  China  War,  of  which 
this  money  was  the  spoil,  was  not  perhaps  an  event  of  which 
the  nation  was  entitled  to  be  very  proud.  It  was  the  precursor  of 
other  wars ;  the  policy  on  which  it  was  conducted  has  never  since 
ceased  altogether  to  be  a  question  of  more  or  less  excited  contro- 
versy ;  but  it  may  safely  be  asserted  that  if  the  same  events  were 
to  occur  in  our  day  it  would  be  hardly  possible  to  find  a  Ministry 
to  originate  a  war,  for  which  at  the  same  time  it  must  be  owned 
that  the  vast  majority  of  the  people,  of  all  politics  and  classes,  were 
only  too  ready  then  to  find  excuse  and  even  justification.  The 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  IN  THE  QUEEN'S  LIFE  223 

wagon-loads  of  silver  conveyed  into  the  Mint  amid  the  cheers  of  the 
crowd  were  the  spoils  of  the  famous  Opium  War. 

The  charter  and  the  exclusive  rights  of  the  East  India  Com- 
pany expired  in  April,  1834  ;  the  charter  was  renewed  under  differ- 
ent conditions,  and  the  trade  with  China  was  thrown  open.  One 
of  the  great  branches  of  the  East  India  Company's  business  with 
China  was  the  opium  trade.  When  the  trading  privileges  ceased, 
this  traffic  was  taken  up  briskly  by  private  merchants,  who  bought 
of  the  company  the  opium  which  they  grew  in  India  and  sold  it  to 
the  Chinese.  The  Chinese  Government,  and  all  teachers,  moralists, 
and  persons  of  education  in  China,  had  long  desired  to  get  rid  of 
or  put  down  this  trade  in  opium.  They  considered  it  highly  detri- 
mental to  the  morals,  the  health  and  the  prosperity  of  the  people. 
All  traffic  in  opium  was  strictly  forbidden  by  the  Government  and 
laws  of  China.  Yet  the  English  traders  carried  on  a  brisk  and 
profitable  trade  in  the  forbidden  article.  Nor  was  this  merely  an 
ordinary  smuggling,  or  a  business  akin  to  that  of  the  blockade-run- 
ning during  our  Civil  War.  The  arrangements  with  the  Chinese 
Government  allowed  the  existence  of  all  establishments  and 
machinery  for  carrying  on  a  general  trade  at  Canton  and  Macao ; 
and  under  cover  of  these  arrangements  the  opium  traders  set  up 
their  regular  headquarters  in  these  towns.  The  English  Govern- 
ment was  slow  to  act,  but  at  length  announced  to  Captain  Elliott, 
the  chief  superintendent  of  British  trade  in  China,  that  her 
Majesty's  Government  could  not  interfere  for  the  purpose  of 
enabling  British  subjects  to  "  violate  the  laws  of  the  country  with 
which  they  trade"  and  that  "any  loss  therefore  which  such  persons 
may  suffer  in  consequence  of  the  more  effectual  execution  of  the 
Chinese  laws  on  this  subject  must  be  borne  by  the  parties  who  have 
brought  that  loss  on  themselves  by  their  own  acts."  This  very 
wise  and  proper  resolve  came,  however,  too  late.  The  British 
traders  had  been  allowed  to  go  on  for  a  long  time  under  the  full 
conviction  that  the  protection  of  the  English  Government  was 
behind  them  and  wholly  at  their  service. 


224  NOTABLE  EVENTS  IN  THE  QUEEN'S  LIFh 

When  the  Chinese  authorities  actually  proceeded  to  insist  on 
the  forfeiture  of  an  immense  quantity  of  the  opium  in  the  hands  of 
British  traders,  and  took  other  harsh  but  certainly  not  unnatural 
measures  to  extinguish  the  traffic.  Captain  Elliott  sent  to  the 
Governor  of  India  a  request  for  as  many  ships-of-war  as  could  be 
spared  for  the  protection  of  the  lives  and  property  of  Englishmen 
in  China.  Before  long  British  ships  arrived,  and  the  two  coun- 
tries were  at  war. 

BEGINNING    OF    THE    WAR 

It  is  not  necessary  to  describe  the  successive  steps  by  which 
the  war  came  on.  It  was  inevitable  from  the  moment  that  the 
English  superintendent  identified  himself  with  the  protection  of 
the  opium  trade.  The  English  believed  that  the  Chinese  authorities 
were  determined  on  war,  and  only  waiting  for  a  convenient  moment 
to  make  a  treacherous  beginning.  The  Chinese  were  convinced 
that  from  the  first  the  English  had  meant  nothing  but  war.  Such 
a  condition  of  feeling  on  both  sides  would  probably  have  made  war 
unavoidable,  even  in  the  case  of  two  nations  who  had  far  much 
better  ways  of  understanding  each  other  than  the  English  and 
Chinese.  It  is  not  surprising  if  the  English  people  at  home  knew 
little  of  the  original  causes  of  the  controversy.  All  that  presented 
itself  to  their  mind  was  the  fact  that  Englishmen  were  in  danger 
in  a  foreign  country ;  that  they  were  harshly  treated  and  recklessly 
imprisoned ;  that  their  lives  were  in  jeopardy,  and  that  the  flag  of 
England  was  insulted.  There  was  a  general  notion,  too,  that  the 
Chinese  were  a  barbarous  and  ridiculous  people  who  had  no  alpha- 
bet, and  thought  themselves  much  better  than  any  other  people, 
even  the  English,  and  that,  on  the  whole,  it  would  be  a  good  thing 
to  take  the  conceit  out  of  them. 

It  was  probably  true  that  the  English  Government  could  not 
have  put  down  the  opium  trade  ;  that  even  with  all  the  assistance 
of  the  Chinese  Government  it  could  have  done  no  more  than  drive 
it  from  one  port  only  to  see  it  make  its  appearance  at  another.  But 
this  is  no  excuse  for  the  action  of  the  English  Government,  which 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  IN  THE  QUEEN* S  LIFE  225 

should  have  announced  from  the  first,  and  in  the  firmest  tone,  that 
it  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  trade  and  would  not  protect 
it.  Instead  of  this,  the  Government  allowed  the  traders  to  remain 
under  the  impression  that  it  was  willing  to  support  them  until  it 
was  too  late  to  undeceive  them  with  any  profit  to  their  safety  or 
the  credit  of  the  Government. 

The  Chinese  authorities  acted  after  awhile  with  a  high-handed 
disregard  of  fairness,  and  of  anything  like  what  we  should  call  the 
responsibility  of  law ;  but  it  is  evident  that  they  believed  they  were 
themselves  the  objects  of  lawless  intrusion  and  enterprise.  There 
were  on  the  part  of  the  Government  great  efforts  made  to  represent 
the  action  as  an  attempt  to  prevent  the  Ministry  from  exacting 
satisfaction  from  the  Chinese  Government,  and  from  protecting  the 
lives  and  interests  of  Englishmen  in  China.  But  it  is  unfortunately 
only  too  often  the  duty  of  statesmen  to  recognize  the  necessity  of 
carrying  on  a  war,  even  while  they  are  of  opinion  that  they  whose 
mismanagement  brought  about  the  war  deserve  condemnation. 
When  Englishmen  are  being  imprisoned  and  murdered,  the  inno- 
cent just  as  well  as  the  guilty,  in  a  foreign  country — when,  in  short, 
war  is  actually  going  on — it  is  not  possible  for  English  statesmen 
in  opposition  to  say,  "  We  will  not  allow  England  to  strike  a  blow 
in  defense  of  our  fellow-countrymen  and  our  flag,  because  we  are 
of  opinion  that  better  judgment  on  the  part  of  our  Government 
would  have  spared  us  the  beginning  of  such  a  war."  There  was 
really  no  inconsistency  in  recognizing  the  necessity  of  carrying  on 
the  war,  and  at  the  same  time  censuring  the  Ministry  who  had 
allowed  the  necessity  to  be  forced  upon  the  country.  Sir  Robert 
Peel  quoted  with  great  effect,  during  this  time,  the  example  of 
Fox,  who  declared  his  readiness  to  give  every  help  to  the  prosecu- 
tion of  a  war  which  the  very  same  day  he  proposed  to  censure  the 
Ministry  for  having  brought  upon  the  country.  With  all  their 
efforts,  the  Ministers  were  only  able  to  command  a  majority  of  nine 
votes  as  the  result  of  the  three  days'  debate. 

13 


226  NOTABLE  EVENTS  IN  THE  QUEEN'S  LIFE 

The  war,  however,  went  on.  It  was  easy  work  enough  so  far 
as  England  was  concerned.  It  was  on  their  side  nothing  but  a 
succession  of  cheap  victories.  The  Chinese  fought  very  bravely  in  a 
great  many  instances  ;  and  they  showed  still  more  often  a  Spartan- 
like  resolve  not  to  survive  defeat.  When  one  of  the  Chinese  cities 
was  taken  by  Sir  Hugh  Gough,  the  Tartar  general  went  into  his 
house  as  soon  as  he  saw  that  all  was  lost,  made  his  servants  set  fire  to 
the  building,  and  calmly  sat  in  his  chair  until  he  was  burned  to  death. 
One  of  the  English  officers  writes  of  the  same  attack,  that  it  was 
impossible  to  compute  the  loss  of  the  Chinese,  "  for  when  they 
found  they  could  stand  no  longer  against  us,  they  cut  the  throats 
of  their  wives  and  children,  or  drove  them  into  wells  or  ponds,  and 
then  destroyed  themselves.  In  many  houses  there  were  from  eight 
to  twelve  dead  bodies,  and  I  myself  saw  a  dozen  women  and 
children  drowning  themselves  in  a  small  pond  the  day  after  the 
fight." 

The  noted  English  writer,  Justin  McCarthy,  gives  this  account 
of  the  rapid  series  of  operations  : 

"  We  quickly  captured  the  island  of  Chusan,  on  the  east  coast 
of  China ;  a  part  of  our  squadron  went  up  the  Peiho  River  to 
threaten  the  capital  ;  negotiations  were  opened,  and  the  prelimi- 
naries of  a  treaty  were  made  out,  to  which,  however,  neither  the 
English  Government  nor  the  Chinese  would  agree,  and  the  war 
was  re-opened.  Chusan  was  again  taken  by  us  ;  Ningpo,  a  large 
city  a  few  miles  in  on  the  mainland,  fell  into  our  hands  ;  Amoy,  farther 
south,  was  captured  ;  our  troops  were  before  Nankin,  when  the 
Chinese  Government  at  last  saw  how  futile  was  the  idea  of  resist- 
ing our  arms.  Their  women  or  their  children  might  just  as  well 
have  attempted  to  encounter  our  soldiers.  With  all  the  bravery 
which  the  Chinese  often  displayed,  there  was  something  pitiful, 
pathetic,  ludicrous,  in  the  simple  and  child-like  attempt  which  they 
made  to  carry  on  war  against  us.  They  made  peace  at  last  on  any 
terms  we  chose  to  ask.  We  asked  in  the  first  instance  the  cession 
in  perpetuity  to  us  of  the  island  of  Hong-Kong.  Of  course  we  got 


tiOTABLE  EVENTS  IN  THE  QUEEN'S  LIFE  22} 

it.  Then  we  asked  that  five  ports,  Canton,  Amoy,  Foo-Chow-Foo, 
Ningpo,  and  Shanghai,  should  be  thrown  open  to  British  traders, 
and  that  consuls  should  be  established  there.  Needless  to  say  that 
this,  too,  was  conceded.  Then  it  was  agreed  that  the  indemnity 
already  mentioned  should  be  paid  by  the  Chinese  Government — 
some  twenty-two  and  a  half  million  dollars,  in  addition  to  six  mil- 
lion and  a  quarter  as  compensation  for  the  destroyed  opium." 

The  whole  chapter  of  history  ended  not  inappropriately,  per- 
haps, with  a  rather  pitiful  dispute  between  the  English  Government 
and  the  English  traders  about  the  amount  of  compensation  to 
which  the  latter  laid  claim  for  their  destroyed  opium.  The  Govern- 
ment was  in  something  of  a  difficulty,  for  it  had  formerly  announced 
that  it  was  resolved  to  let  the  traders  bear  any  loss  which  their 
violation  of  the  laws  of  China  might  bring  upon  them.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  they  had  identified  themselves  by  the  war  with  the 
cause  of  the  traders ;  and  one  of  the  conditions  of  peace  had  been 
the  compensation  for  the  opium.  At  last  the  matter  was  compro- 
mised ;  the  merchants  had  to  take  what  they  could  get,  and  that 
was  considerably  below  their  demands. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Victoria's  Achievements  for  Peace 

ONE  of  the  most  notable  features  of  the  Queen's  reign  was 
its    peaceful  character.       Never  had  a  monarch  ruled    so 
long  with  so  few  great  wars.     Among  the  achievements  for 
peace  of  the  Victorian  age,  are  the  inception  and  successful  accom- 
plishment of  the  first  great  world's  fair  in   London  and  the  settle- 
ment of  the  Alabama  claims  by  arbitration.     The  inception  of  the 
former  was  due,  as  we  shall  see,  to  the  Queen's  royal  spouse,  and 
owed  its  success  to   his  persistency  and  tact  and  to   the  Queen's 
lively  and  sympathetic  interest. 

The  other  was  no  less  due  to  the  Queen's  marked  friendliness 
for  America  than  to  her  love  of  universal  peace,  a  love  which  made 
her  extend  her  strong  sympathy  to  the  peaceful  settlement  of  the 
Alabama  dispute  and,  more  recently,  to  the  great  cause  of  world- 
wide peace  as  fostered  at  the  conference  which  met  at  the  Hague. 

The  Queen's  desire  for  peace  abroad  as  thus  shown,  was  in 
harmony  with  her  wishes  for  her  country  at  home.  There  was  no 
jealousy  between  Parliament  and  Sovereign.  Each  tried  to  do  the 
will  of  the  other.  At  the  beginning  of  her  reign,  Parliament  voted 
her  the  usual  grant  of  money  for  the  Crown  without  any  of  that 
reluctance  it  had  sometimes  shown  toward  other  rulers,  and  the 
grant  was  received  by  the  Queen  in  the  same  friendly  spirit. 
Indeed,  she  would  rather  have  given  up  part  of  the  royal  revenues 
than  have  caused  ill-feeling  on  the  part  of  her  subjects.  It  is 
fitting  that,  along  with  the  other  influences  for  peace,  a  statement  be 
made  of  the  sources  and  amount  of  the  money  which  thus  went  for 
the  support  of  the  Queen. 
228 


VICTORIA  'S  ACHIEVEMENTS  FOR  PEACE  229 

The  year  1851  was  made  memorable  by  the  first  great  interna- 
tional exhibition,  held  in  Hyde  Park.  Here  was  displayed  the 
skill  in  arts  and  manufactures  of  all  nations  and  peoples.  Like 
other  expositions,  this  leader  of  them  all  had  its  special  feature — 
the  Crystal  Palace.  This  was  a  structure  of  glass  and  iron  large 
enough  to  cover  all  the  contents  of  the  exhibition  and  at  once  light, 
beautiful  and  inexpensive.  The  building  fulfilled  its  immediate 
purpose  admirably  and  is  inseparably  associated  with  the  event  and 
the  year. 

THE    FIRST    GREAT    INTERNATIONAL    EXHIBITION 

The  exhibition  of  1851  was  mainly  due  to  the  large  conception 
and  wise  foresight  of  the  Prince  Consort.  The  public  at  the  time 
knew  but  little,  and  many  know  but  little  to  this  day,  of  the  amount 
of  anxious  thought  and  labor  which  he  devoted  to  the  success  of 
the  great  undertaking  that  made  the  year  1851  memorable  as  a 
new  starting-point  in  the  industrial  and  social  history  of  the  world. 
Besides  his  personal  merits,  his  own  high  name  and  his  close  relation 
to  the  Sovereign  added  a  lustre  to  the  Royal  Commission  which 
would  otherwise  have  been  totally  lacking,  and  gave  ground  for 
that  confidence  to  foreign  powers  which  they  displayed  so  signally 
and  with  so  little  stint.  When  the  proposal  was  first  made  it  was 
met  by  countless  objections.  It  was  so  novel  an  idea  that  few 
welcomed  it.  But  the  hopeful  perseverance  of  Prince  Albert  solved 
the  problems  and  overcame  the  innumerable  impediments  which 
threatened  more  than  once  to  mar  the  success  of  the  great  work. 

On  the  first  day  of  May  the  event  to  which  the  whole  civilized 

world  had  been  looking  forward  with  mingled  interest  and  curiosity 

—the  opening  of  the  great  Congress  of  Industry  and  Art — was 

accomplished  with  a  pomp   suitable  to  the  dignity  and  importance 

of  the  occasion. 

The  Queen  herself  has  written  a  very  interesting  account  of 
the  success  of  the  opening  day.  Her  description  is  interesting  as  an 
expression  of  the  feelings  of  the  writer,  the  sense  of  profound  relief 
and  rapture,  as  well  as  for  the  sake  of  the  picture  it  gives  of  the 


23o  VICTORIA  'S  ACHIEVEMENTS  FOR  PEACE 

ceremonial  itself.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  wife  over  the  complete 
success  of  the  project  on  which  her  husband  had  set  his  heart  and 
staked  his  name  is  simple  and  touching.  If  the  importance  of  the 
undertaking  and  the  amount  of  fame  it  was  to  bring  to  its  author 
may  seem  a  little  overdone,  not  many  readers  will  complain  of  the 
womanly  and  wifely  feeling  which  could  not  be  denied  fervent 
expression.  "The  great  event,"  wrote  the  Queen,  "has  taken 
place — a  complete  and  beautiful  triumph — a  glorious  and  touching 
sight,  one  which  I  shall  ever  be  proud  of  for  my  beloved  Albert 
and  my  country.  .  .  .  The  park  presented  a  wonderful  spectacle, 
crowds^streaming  through  it,  carriages  and  troops  passing,  quite 
like  the  coronation  day,  and  for  me  the  same  anxiety — no,  much 
greater  anxiety,  on  account  of  my  beloved  Albert.  The  day  was 
bright,  and  all  bustle  and  excitement.  .  .  .  The  Green  Park  and 
Hyde  Park  were  one  densely-crowded  mass  of  human  beings,  in  the 
highest  good  humor  and  most  enthusiastic.  I  never  saw  Hyde 
Park  look  as  it  did — as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  A  little  rain 
fell  just  as  we  started,  but  before  we  came  near  the  Crystal  Palace 
the  sun  shone  and  gleamed  upon  the  gigantic  edifice,  upon  which 
the  flags  of  all  nations  were  floating.  .  .  .  The  glimpse  of  the  tran- 
sept through  the  iron  gates,  the  waving  palms,  flowers,  statues, 
myriads  of  people  filling  the  galleries  and  seats  around,  with  the 
flourish  of  trumpets  as  we  entered,  gave  us  a  sensation  which  I  can 
never  forget,  and  I  felt  much  moved.  .  .  .  The  sight  as  we  came 
to  the  middle  was  magical — so  vast,  so  glorious,  so  touching — one 
felt,  as  so  many  did  whom  I  have  since  spoken  to,  filled  with  devo- 
tion— more  so  than  by  any  service  I  have  ever  heard.  The  tremen- 
dous cheers,  the  joy  expressed  in  every  face,  the  immensity  of  the 
building,  the  mixture  of  palms,  flowers,  trees,  statues,  fountains  ; 
the  organ  (with  200  instruments  and  600  voices,  which  sounded  like 
nothing),  and  my  beloved  husband  the  author  of  this  peace  festival, 
which  united  the  industry  of  all  nations  of  the  earth — all  this  was 
moving  indeed,  and  it  was  and  is  a  day  to  live  forever.  God  bless 
my  dearest  Albert !  God  bless  my  dearest  country,  which  has 


VICTORIA  '  S  A CHIE  VEMENTS  FOR  PEA CE  231 

shown  itself  so  great  to-day  !  One  felt  so  grateful  to  the  great  God, 
who  seemed  to  pervade  all  and  to  bless  all." 

The  success  of  the  opening  day  was  indeed  undoubted.  There 
were  nearly  thirty  thousand  people  gathered  together  within  the 
building,  and  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  million  of  persons  lined  the 
way  between  the  exhibition  and  Buckingham  Palace  ;  and  yet  no 
accident  whatever  occurred,  nor  had  the  police  any  trouble  imposed 
on  them  by  the  conduct  of  anybody  in  the  crowd.  "  It  was  impos- 
sible," wrote  Lord  Palmerston,  "for  the  invited  guests  of  a  lady's 
drawing-room  to  have  conducted  themselves  with  more  perfect  pro- 
priety than  did  this  sea  of  human  beings." 

THE    SUCCESS    OF    THE    OPENING    DAY 

By  1 1  o'clock,  after  which  hour  none  of  the  general  public 
could  be  admitted,  the  honorable  corps  of  gentlemen-at-arms,  in 
their  gay  uniforms,  had  taken  up  their  places  in  the  rear  of  the  dais 
set  for  the  Queen.  This  dais  was  covered  with  a  splendid  carpet, 
which  had  been  especially  worked  for  the  occasion  by  150  ladies, 
and  on  this  was  placed  a  magnificent  chair  of  state,  covered  with  a 
cloth  of  crimson  and  gold.  High  over  head  was  suspended  an 
octagon  canopy,  trimmed  with  blue  satin,  and  draperies  of  blue  and 
white.  The  trumpeters  and  heralds  were  in  readiness  to  proclaim 
the  arrival  of  the  Queen,  and  Sir  George  Smart  stood,  baton  in 
hand,  perched  up  in  a  small  rostrum,  "  Ready  to  beat  time  to  '  God 
Save  the  Queen '  for  the  five  hundredth  time  in  his  life."  The 
Commissioners  of  the  Exhibition  and  the  foreign  ambassadors 
stood  in  the  entrance  hall,  prepared  to  pay  their  respects  to  her 
Majesty  on  her  arrival.  The  Queen  entered,  leaning  on  her 
husband's  arm,  and  being  also  accompanied  by  the  Princess  Royal 
and  the  Prince  of  Wales.  The  Queen  wore  a  dress  of  pink  satin 
brocaded  with  gold  ;  Prince  Albert  a  Field-Marshal's  uniform  ;  the 
Prince  of  Wales  was  in  Highland  dress,  while  the  Princess  was  clad 
in  white  satin,  with  a  wreath  of  flowers  around  her  head.  A 
tremendous  burst  of  cheering,  renewed  and  prolonged  from  all 


232  VICTORIA  'S  ACHIEVEMENTS  FOR  PEACE 

parts  of  the  building,  greeted  the  announcement  of  the  arrival  of 
the  Queen. 

Her  Majesty  was  conducted  to  her  chair  of  state  by  the 
Commissioners,  Cabinet  and  Foreign  Ministers.  As  they  stood 
around  her  chair  in  their  bright  Court  dresses  and  brilliant  uniforms, 
a  choir  of  nearly  a  thousand  voices  sang  "  God  Save  the  Queen." 
At  the  conclusion  of  its  last  strain,  Prince  Albert  descended  from 
the  dais,  and,  taking  his  place  with  his  brother  Commissioners, 
read  a  long  address  to  her  Majesty,  in  which  he  recited  the  history, 
plan,  and  intent  of  the  magnificent  project  which  was  so  largely  the 
product  of  his  own  heart  and  brain. 

The  Queen  read  a  short  reply,  the  tenor  of  which  was  to 
warmly  re-echo  the  hopes  and  sentiments  contained  in  the  address 
of  the  Prince.  The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  then  offered  up  a 
consecratory  prayer,  which  was  followed  by  the  performance  of  the 
"  Hallelujah  Chorus,"  under  the  direction  of  Sir  Henry  Bishop.  A 
very  long  procession,  in  which  the  Queen  went  hand-in-hand  with 
her  son,  and  Prince  Albert  with  his  daughters,  was  then  marshaled, 
and,  having  marched  round  the  interior  of  the  building,  the  exhibition 
was  declared  formally  opened. 

Nor  did  its  subsequent  history  in  any  way  belie  the  promise  of 
its  opening  day.  It  continued  to  attract  delighted  crowds  to  the 
last,  and  more  than  once  held  within  its  precincts  at  one  moment 
nearly  a  hundred  thousand  persons,  a  concourse  large  enough  to 
have  made  the  population  of  a  respectable  continental  capital.  In 
another  way  the  exhibition  proved  even  more  successful  than  was 
anticipated.  There  had  been  some  difficulty  in  raising  money  in 
the  first  instance,  and  it  was  thought  something  of  a  patriotic  risk 
when  a  few  spirited  citizens  combined  to  secure  the  accomplishment 
of  the  undertaking  by  means  of  a  guarantee  fund.  But  the  guarantee 
fund  became  in  the  end  merely  one  of  the  forms  and  ceremonials 
of  the  exhibition  ;  for  the  undertaking  not  only  covered  its  expenses, 
but  left  a  huge  sum  of  money  in  the  hands  of  the  royal  commis- 
sioners. The  exhibition  was  closed  by  Prince  Albert  on  October 


VICTORIA  'S  ACHIEVEMENTS  FOR  PEACE  233 

1 5th.  That  at  least  may  be  described  as  the  closing  day,  for  it  was 
then  that  the  awards  of  prizes  was  made  known  in  presence  of  the 
Prince  and  a  large  concourse  of  people.  The  exhibition  itself  had 
actually  been  closed  to  the  general  public  on  the  eleventh  of  the 
month.  It  has  been  imitated  again  and  again.  It  was  followed  by 
an  exhibition  in  Dublin ;  an  exhibition  of  the  paintings  and 
sculptures  of  all  nations  in  Manchester ;  three  great  exhibitions  in 
Paris  ;  the  International  Exhibition  in  Kensington  in  1862 — the 
enterprise,  too,  of  Prince  Albert,  although  not  destined  to  have  his 
presence  at  its  opening  ;  an  exhibition  at  Vienna,  one  at  Philadelphia, 
the  World's  Fair  at  Chicago,  1893,  and  again  at  Paris  in  1900.  Where 
all  nations  seem  to  have  agreed  to  pay  Prince  Albert's  enterprise 
the  compliment  of  imitation,  it  seems  superfluous  to  say  that  it 
was  a  success. 

THE    ALABAMA    AWARD 

Queen  Victoria's  reign  will  always  be  memorable  for  the  great 
event  which  marks  this  as  distinctively  an  era  of  peace  and  good  will 
for  in  1872  an  important  diplomatic  question  was  settled  by  the 
tribunal  of  arbitration  held  at  Geneva.  It  was  the  famous  claim 
against  the  Alabama  and  other  Confederate  cruisers  which,  during 
our  Civil  War,  did  so  much  to  sweep  our  merchant  marine  from 
the  sea.  These  vessels  made  their  departure  from  British  ports, 
and  were,  in  many  instances,  fitted  out  with  British  munitions  of 
war.  The  United  States  claimed  that  Great  Britain  should  pay 
damages  for  violation  of  neutrality.  The  matter  dragged  for  some 
time.  At  first  the  English  Government  declined  to  admit  any 
responsibility  for  the  losses  inflicted  on  American  commerce,  but 
later  it  acknowledged  a  willingness  to  submit  the  question  to  some 
manner  of  peaceful  decision.  An  agreement  regarding  the  matter 
had  been  made  by  the  two  Governments  and  rejected  by  the  United 
States  Senate  when,  in  1871,  President  Grant  in  his  message  to 
Congress  announced  that  the  time  had  come  for  the  American 
Government  to  take  decided  steps  for  the  settlement  of  the 
Alabama  claims 


234  VICTORIA  'S  ACHIEVEMENTS  FOR  PEACE 

After  some  negotiation  with  England,  that  Government 
consented  to  send  a  commission  to  Washington  to  confer  with  an 
American  commission  on  all  the  various  subjects  of  dispute  between 
the  two  countries.  The  English  commissioners  were  Earl  de  Grey 
and  Ripon  (afterward  created  Marquis  of  Ripon,  in  return  for  his 
services  at  Washington),  Sir  Stafford  Northcote,  Mr.  Montague 
Bernard,  professor  of  international  law  at  the  University  of  Oxford, 
and  Sir  Edward  Thornton,  English  Minister  at  Washington.  Sir 
John  A.  Macdonald  represented  Canada.  The  American  commis- 
sioners were  Mr.  Hamilton  Fish,  Secretary  of  State ;  General 
Schenck,  afterward  American  Minister  to  England ;  Mr.  J.  C. 
Bancroft  Davis,  Mr.  Justice  Nelson,  Mr.  Justice  Williams,  and  Mr. 
E.  R.  Hoar. 

THE    TREATY    OF    WASHINGTON 

The  commissioners  held  a  long  series  of  meetings  in  Washing- 
ton, and  at  length  arrived  at  a  basis  of  arbitration.  This  was  set 
forth  in  a  memorable  document,  the  Treaty  of  Washington.  The 
Treaty  of  Washington  acknowledged  the  international  character  of 
the  dispute  ;  and  it  opened  with  a  remarkable  admission  on  the  part 
of  the  English  Government.  It  announced  that . "  Her  Britannic 
Majesty  has  authorized  her  high  commissioners  and  plenipoten- 
tiaries to  express,  in  a  friendly  spirit,  the  regret  felt  by  her 
Majesty's  Government  for  the  escape,  under  whatever  circum- 
stances, of  the  Alabama  and  other  vessels  from  British  ports,  and 
for  the  depredations  committed  by  those  vessels."  This  was  a 
very  unusual  acknowledgment  to  make  as  the  opening  of  a  docu- 
ment intended  to  establish  a  tribunal  of  arbitration  for  the  claims 
in  dispute.  It  ought  not  in  itself  to  be  considered  as  anything  of  a 
humiliation.  In  public,  as  in  private  life,  it  ought  to  be  honorable 
rather  than  otherwise  to  express  regret  that  we  should  even  unwit- 
tingly have  done  harm  to  our  neighbor,  or  allowed  harm  to  be  done 
to  him ;  that  we  have  shot  our  arrow  o'er  the  house  and  hurt  our 
brother.  But  when  compared  with  the  stand  which  English  Minis- 
ters had  taken  not  many  years  before,  this  was  indeed  a  considerable 


VICTORIA  'S  ACHIEVEMENTS  FOR  PEACE  235 

change  of  attitude.  It  is  not  surprising  that  many  English- 
vnen  chafed  at  the  appearance  of  submission  which  it  presented. 
The  treaty  then  proceeded  to  lay  down  three  rules  which  it  was 
agreed  should  be  accepted  by  the  arbitrators  as  applicable  to  the 
case,  These  rules  were  :  "  A  neutral  government  is  bound  :  First, 
to  use  due  diligence  to  prevent  the  fitting  out,  arming  or  equipping, 
within  its  jurisdiction,  of  any  vessel  which  it  has  reasonable  ground 
to  believe  is  intended  to  cruise  or  to  carry  on  war  against  a  power 
with  which  it  is  at  peace,  and  also  to  use  like  diligence  to  prevent 
the  departure  from  its  jurisdiction  of  any  vessel  intended  to  cruise 
or  carry  on  war  as  above,  such  vessel  having  been  specially 
adapted,  in  whole  or  in  part,  within  such  jurisdiction  to  warlike 
use.  '  Secondly,  not  to  permit  or  suffer  either  belligerent  to  make 
use  of  its  ports  or  waters  as  the  base  of  naval  operations  against 
the  other,  or  for  the  purpose  of  the  renewal  or  augmentation  of 
military  supplies  or  arms,  or  the  recruitment  of  men.  Thirdly,  to 
exercise  due  diligence  in  its  own  ports  and  waters  and  as  to 
all  persons  within  its  jurisdiction,  to  prevent  any  violation  of  the 
foregoing  obligations  and  duties." 

The  British  Commissioners  followed  up  the  acceptance  of 
these  three  rules  by  a  saving  ctause,  declaring  that  the  English 
Government  could  not  assent  to  them  as  a  "statement  of  princi- 
ples of  international  law  which  were  in  force  at  the  time  when  the 
claims  arose  ;"  but  that,  "in  order  to  evince  its  desire  of  strength- 
ening the  friendly  relations  between  the  two  countries,  and  of  mak- 
ing satisfactory  provision  for  the  future,"  it  agreed  that  in  deciding 
the  questions  arising  out  of  the  claims  these  principles  should  be 
accepted,  "and  the  high  contracting  parties  agree  to  observe  these 
rules  between  themselves  in  future,  and  to  bring  them  to  the 
knowledge  of  other  maritime  powers,  and  to  invite  them  to  accede 
to  them."  The  treaty  then  went  on  to  provide  for  the  settlement 
of  the  Alabama  claims  by  a  tribunal  of  five  arbitrators,  one  to  be 
appointed  by  the  Queen,  and  the  others  respectively  by  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  the  King  of  Italy,  the  President  of  the 


236  VICTORIA  'S  ACHIEVEMENTS  FOR  PEACE 

Swiss  Confederation,  and  the  Emperor  of  Brazil.  This  tribunal 
was  to  meet  in  Geneva,  and  was  to  decide  by  a  majority  all  the 
questions  submitted  to  it. 

The  tribunal  of  arbitration  was  composed  of  five  men,  and 
appointed  in  accordance  with  the  Treaty  of  Washington  (as  we 
have  stated),  as  follows  :  Sir  Alexander  J.  E.  Cockburn,  appointed 
by  the  Queen ;  Charles  Francis  Adams,  appointed  by  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States;  Count  Frederigo  P.  Sclopis,  appointed 
by  the  King  of  Italy  ;  M.  Jacques  Staempfli,  appointed  by  the 
President  of  the  Swiss  Confederation;  and  Viscount  d' Itajuba, 
appointed  by  the  Emperor  of  Brazil.  The  Court  met  at  Geneva, 
Switzerland,  December  15,  1871,  but  not  until  September  i4th  of 
the  following  year  was  the  final  conclusion  announced.  The  case 
was  argued  for  the  United  States  by  William  M.  Evarts,  Caleb 
Cushing  and  Morrison  R.  Waite  ;  for  Great  Britain  by  Sir  Roun- 
dell  Palmer.  Mr.  J.  C.  Bancroft  Davis,  of  the  United  States,  and 
Lord  Tenterden,  of  Great  Britain,  attended  the  tribunal  of  arbi- 
tration as  agents  of  their  respective  governments. 

THE    MEETING    OF    THE    TRIBUNAL    OF    ARBITRATION    AT    GENEVA 

Some  delay  was  caused  in  the  meeting  of  the  tribunal  of  arbi- 
tration at  Geneva  by  the  sudden  presentation  on  the  part  of  the 
American  Government  of  what  were  called  the  indirect  claims.  To 
the  surprise  of  everybody,  the  American  case  when  presented  was 
found  to  include  claims  for  vast  and  indeed  almost  limitless  dam- 
ages, for  indirect  losses  alleged  to  be  caused  by  the  cruise  of  the 
Alabama  and  the  other  vessels.  The  loss  by  the  transfer  of  trade 
to  English  vessels,  the  loss  by  increased  rates  of  insurance,  and  all 
imaginable  losses  incident  to  the  prolongation  of  the  war,  were 
now  made  part  of  the  American  claims.  It  was  clear  that,  if  such 
a  principle  were  admitted,  there  was  no  possible  reason  why  the 
claims  should  not  include  every  dollar  spent  in  the  whole  opera- 
tions of  the  war,  and  in  supplying  any  of  the  war's  damages,  from 
the  first  day  when  the  Alabama  put  to  sea. 


VICTORIA  'S  ACHIEVEMENTS  FOR  PEACE  237 

There  indirect  claims  were  not  only  absurd,  but  even  mon- 
strous, and  the  English  Government  had  not  for  one  moment  the 
slightest  idea  of  admitting  them  as  part  of  the  case  to  be  laid  before 
the  arbitrators  at  Geneva.  The  bare  suggestion  seemed  more  like 
a  rude  practical  joke  than  a  statesmanlike  proposition.  Even  men 
like  Mr.  Bright,  who  had  been  devoted  friends  of  the  North  during 
the  war,  protested  against  this  insufferable  claim.  It  was  at  last 
conceded.  We  now  know  on  the  best  possible  authority  that  our 
own  Government  never  meant  to  press  it. 

The  arbitration  was  on  the  point  of  being  broken  off.  The 
excitement  in  England  was  intense.  The  American  Government 
had  finally  to  withdraw  the  claims.  The  Geneva  arbitrators  of 
their  own  motion  declared  that  all  such  claims  were  invalid  and 
contrary  to  international  law.  The  mere  fact  of  their  presentation 
went  far  to  destroy  all  the  credit  which  the  United  States  would 
have  obtained  by  the  firm -maintenance  of  their  just  demands  and 
their  recognition  by  the  court  of  arbitration. 

The  decision  of  the  tribunal  was  in  favor  of  the  United 
States.  The  court  were  unanimous  in  finding  England  respon- 
sible for  the  acts  of  the  Alabama.  A  majority  found  her  respon- 
sible for  the  acts  of  the  Florida  and  for  some  of  those  of  the 
Shcnandoah,  but  not  responsible  for  those  of  other  vessels.  They 
awarded  a  sum  of  about  sixteen  and  a  quarter  million  dollars  as 
compensation  for  all  losses  and  final  settlement  of  all  claims  includ- 
ing interest. 

THE  QUEEN'S  INCOME 

At  the  outset  of  her  reign,  Queen  Victoria,  following  the 
example  of  her  uncle,  King  William  IV.,  made  an  arrangement 
with  Parliament  by  which,  in  return  for  her  surrender  to  the  State 
of  the  larger  part  of  the  property  of  the  Crown,  she  received  for  life 
a  civil  list  of  $2,000,000  a  year,  together  with  a  promise  of  adequate 
allowances  for  the  Princes  and  Princesses  of  the  royal  house. 

It  was  not  the  Queen  or  her  family  who  had  the  best  of  this 
bargain,  but  the  State — that  is  to  say,  the  taxpayers.  Owing  to  the 


238  VICTORIA  'S  ACHIEVEMENTS  FOR  PEACE 

careful  management  and  extraordinary  development  of  the  Crown 
property,  together  with  the  amazing  growth  in  value  of  building 
land  in  the  last  sixty  years,  the  Treasury,  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  Queen's  reign,  has  managed  to  net  profits  of  $500,000,  and 
during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  profits  of  over  $1,000,000  a 
year,  from  the  proceeds  of  the  Crown  property,  after  all  the 
expenses  of  its  management,  the  civil  list  of  the  Queen  and  the 
allowances  of  the  royal  princes  and  princesses  had  been  deducted. 
So  instead  of  Queen  Victoria  and  her  family  having  been  a  source 
of  expense  to  the  national  exchequer,  it  is  probable  that  they  have 
benefited  the  State  to  the  extent  of  at  least  $30,000,000 ;  that  is 
to  say,  they  have  relieved  the  taxpayer  from  that  amount  of  fiscal 
burden,  thanks  to  the  bargain  concluded  by  Queen  Victoria  with 
Parliament  sixty-four  "rears  ago. 

The  allowances  subsequently  asked  of  Parliament  by  the 
Queen  for  her  children,  in  accordance  with  this  arrangement,  were 
exceedingly  modest.  The  eldest  child  of  the  Queen,  her  daughter 
Victoria,  now  the  widowed  Empress  Frederick  of  Germany, 
received  an  allowance  for  her  life  of  $40,000  per  annum.  King 
Edward,  while  still  the  Prince  of  Wales,  was  obliged  to  content 
himself  until  his  children  grew  up  with  an  allowance  of  $200,000, 
which,  on  the  marriage  of  his  son  and  of  two  of  his  daughters,  was 
increased  by  another  $175,000  a  year,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling 
him  to  make  provision  therefrom  for  them.  King  Edward's  sailor 
brother,  Alfred,  received  like  his  younger  brother,  Arthur,  Duke  of 
Connaught,  $125,000  a  year.  But  on  Alfred's  succeeding  to  the 
German  throne  of  Saxe.-Coburg-Gotha  he  relinquished  the  major 
part  of  his  English  allowance,  which  was  reduced  to  $50,000  a  year. 
The  three  younger  daughters  of  the  late  Queen  have  each  $30,000 
a  year,  in  addition  to  the  $150,000  down  which  they  received  at  the 
time  of  marriage.  Similar  annuities  of  $30,000  ire  granted  to  the 
widows  of  King  Edward's  brothers,  the  Duk  :s  of  Coburg  and 
Albany.  The  old  Duke  of  Cambridge,  between  whom  and  his  first 
cousin,  Queen  Victoria,  there  were  only  a  few  weeks'  difference  in 


VICTORIA  >S  ACHIEVEMENTS  FOR  PEACE  239 

age,  draws  $60,000  a  year  from  the  Treasury,  while  his  sister,  Prin- 
cess Augusta  of  Great  Britain,  wife  of  the  blind  but  reigning 
Grand  Duke  of  Mecklenburg-Strelitz,  received  $15,000  a  year  from 
Parliament.  When  one  reflects  what  a  little  way  annuities  of 
$30,000  a  year,  and  even  of  $125,000  a  year,  go  in  these  days  of 
colossal  fortunes  and  extravagant  expenditure,  and  that  the  recipi- 
ents of  these  allowances  are  expected  to  maintain  royal  estate,  and 
to  take  the  lead  in  all  public  charities,  it  will  be  admitted  that  not 
only  was  Queen  Victoria  singularly  modest  in  the  demands  she 
made  upon  Parliament  for  the  maintenance  of  the  members  of  the 
royal  family,  but  that  the  latter  likewise  deserve  credit  for  having ' 
managed  to  live  within  their  income.  At  any  rate,  Parliament  has 
never  been  called  upon  to  pay  any  of  their  debts  out  of  the  profits 
derived  from  the  State  management  of  Crown  property. 

Of  course,  neither  Queen  Victoria  nor  her  eldest  son  was 
entirely  dependent  upon  the  allowances  received  from  the  Treasury 
in  respect  to  the  Crown  property.  The  Queen  retained,  as  she  had 
a  right  to  do,  the  revenues  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  which,  after 
the  deduction  of  all  expenses,  amount  to  about  $300,000  per  c.n  num. 
King  Edward,  when  still  Prince  of  Wales,  derived  a  similar  amount 
each  year  from  the  revenues  of  the  Duchy  of  Cornwall,  which  has 
been  the  property  of  the  heir  to  the  throne  for  more  than  eight 
centuries.  Moreover,  Queen  Victoria  retained  possession  for  life 
of  the  royal  palaces,  art  treasures,  and  the  royal  park  of  Windsor, 
all  of  which  are  Crown  property.  The  treasures  include  all  the 
gold  and  silver  plate  and  the  Crown  Jewels,  worth  several  millions 
of  pounds  sterling,  all  of  which  are  now  turned  over  to  King 
Edward,  but  for  his  life  only. 

Queen  Victoria  gave  Parliament  to  understand  of  her  own  ini- 
tiative that  she  had  no  intention  of  calling  upon  the  nation,  under 
the  terms  of  her  agreement  with  the  State,  to  provide  for  her 
grandchildren.  It  should  likewise  be  stated  that  of  the  $2,000,000 
civil  list  received  by  her  late  Majesty  the  salaries  and  retired  allow- 
ances of  the  royal  household  consumed  nearly  $700,000  a  year,  while 


240  VICTORIA  'S  ACHIEVEMENTS  FOR  PEACE 

the  expenses  of  the  household  swallowed  up  $900,000  a  year.  One 
hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year  was  devoted  to  pensioning  deserving 
people.  The  remaining  $300,000,  all  that  was  left  at  the  august 
lady's  disposal,  was  assigned  to  "  her  Majesty's  privy  purse." 

Victoria,  as  stated  above,  was  satisfied  with  $2,000,000  per 
annum,  which  sixty  years  ago  possessed  double  the  purchasing 
power  that  it  does  to-day.  King  William,  who  reigned  before  her, 
got  $2, 500,000  a  year.  It  is  probable  that  King  Edward  will  stipu- 
late for  a  civil  list  of  at  least  $3,000,000  a  year,  which  the  State 
can  well  afford  to  pay,  as  the  revenues  from  the  surrendered  Crown 
lands  exceed  that  amount. 

The  question  may  possibly  arise  as  to  how  the  monarch  origi- 
nally became  possessed  of  the  lands  now  known  as  the  Crown 
property.  Formerly  all  the  lands  of  the  realm  belonged  to  the 
Crown,  and  were  held  by  the  latter  by  various  feudal  tenures. 
Owing  to  extravagance  and  liberality  on  the  part  of  various  sove- 
reigns in  granting  Crown  lands  to  their  favorites  and  courtiers,  the 
Crown  property  at  the  time  of  the  accession  of  Queen  Anne  had 
been  reduced  to  such  an  extent  that  its  revenues  scarcely  exceeded 
the  rent-roll  of  a  country  squire.  It  was  then  that. an  Act  of  Par- 
liament was  passed  prohibiting  the  disposal  of  Crown  property. 
Thanks  to  this  law,  as  well  as  to  subsequent  escheats  and  for- 
feitures of  other  lands  which  went  to  the  Crown,  the  Crown 
property  by  degrees  developed  and  grew  until  it  attained  its 
present  proportions.  By  the  legal  term  "escheats"  is  meant  that 
when  there  are  no  heirs  to  succeed  to  a  territorial  inheritance  the 
lands  escheat,  or  revert,  to  the  Crown — that  is,  the  sovereign,  who 
is,  in  the  eyes  of  the  law,  the  original  proprietor  of  all  the  lands  of 
the  realm.  Formerly  the  sovereign  was  expected  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  the  judiciary  and  of  the  diplomatic  service,  and  to  pay 
all  pensions,  for  which  purpose  he  received  the  proceeds  of  a  num- 
ber of  special  taxes  and  imposts.  These  were  surrendered  to  Par- 
liament at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  in  return  Parlia- 
ment undertook  to  pay  the  salaries  of  the  officials  and  the  pensions. 


The  Crimean  War  and  the  Indian  Mutiny 

OF  the  wars  with  which   England  was  afflicted  during  the 
Queen's  reign  only  one  was  on  European  soil,  all  the  others 
being  in   far-off  regions  of   Africa  and   Asia.       Of  these 
many  conflicts  three  only  were  of  marked  importance,  the  Crimean 
War,  with  which  we  are  at  present  concerned,  the  terrible  mutiny 
in. India,  and  the  bitterly  contested  struggle  in  South  Africa,  whose 
effect  upon  Victoria's  mind  proved  so  serious. 

On  October  4,  1853,  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  declared  war 
against  Russia,  unless  she  would  immediately  withdraw  the  troops 
which  had  occupied  the  Danubian  principalities.  Instead  of  doing 
this,  the  Czar,  Nicholas,  ordered  his  generals  to  invade  the  Balkan 
territory.  Meanwhile  England  and  France,  resolute  to  preserve 
the  "  balance  of  power "  in  Europe,  had  sent  their  fleets  to  the 
Dardanelles,  and  now  they  entered  into  alliance  with  the  Porte 
against  Russia,  and  their  fleets  sailed  on  into  the  Bosphorus.  The 
destruction  of  a  Turkish  squadron  in  the  harbor  of  Sinope  by  the 
Russians  precipitated  events,  and  in  March,  1854,  England  and 
France  declared  war  against  Russia. 

THE    HORRORS   OF    THE    WAR    BEGAN    TO    BE    FELT 

By  September,  when  the  landing  on  the  peninsula  of  the 
Crimea  took  place,  the  allied  forces  had  already  lost  15000  men,  and 
the  horrors  of  war  began  to  be  felt  seriously  in  the  home  countries. 
As  the  conflict  went  on,  the  battle  of  the  Alma  was  fought,  and  the 
allies  advanced  on  the  fortified  town  of  Sebastopol,  the  feeling  at 
home  grew  more  intense,  the  Queen  sharing  in  all  its  intensity  the 
anxiety  which  affected  her  people.  In  October  came  the  ever 
14  241 


242  CRIMEAN   WAR  AND  INDIAN  MUTINY 

memorable  charge  of  the  Light  Brigade  at  Balaklava.  When  the 
allies  approached  they  were  soon  convinced  that  any  attack  on 
such  formidable  defences  would  be  fruitless,  and  that  they  must 
await  the  arrival  of  fresh  reinforcements  and  ammunition.  The 
English  took  up  their  position  on  the  Bay  of  Balaklava,  and  the 
French  to  the  west,  on  the  Kamiesch. 

There  now  commenced  a  sie^e  such  as  has  seldom  occurred  in 

o 

the  history  of  the  world.  The  first  attempt  to  storm  by  a  united 
attack  of  the  land  army  and  the  fleet  showed  the  resistance  to  be 
much  more  formidable  than  had  been  expected  by  the  allies.  Eight 
days  later  the  English  were  surprised  in  their  strong  position  near 
Balaklava  by  General  Liprandi.  The  battle  of  Balaklava  was  decided 
in  favor  of  the  allies,  and  on  the  5th  of  November,  when  Menzikoff 
had  obtained  fresh  reinforcements,  the  murderous  battle  of  Inker- 
mann  was  fought  under  the  eyes  of  the  two  Grand  Princes  Nicholas 
and  Michael,  and  after  a  mighty  struggle  was  won  by  the  allied 
armies.  Fighting  in  the  ranks  were  two  other  princely  personages, 
the  Duke  of  Cambridge  and  Prince  Napoleon,  son  of  Jerome, 
former  King  of  Westphalia. 

Of  the  engagements  here  named  there  is  only  one  to  which 
special  attention  need  be  directed, -the  battle  of  Balaklava,  in  which 
occurred  that  mad  but  heroic  "  Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade," 
which  has  become  famous  in  song  and  story.  The  purpose  of  this 
conflict  on  the  part  of  the  Russians  was  to  cut  the  line  of  commu- 
nication of  the  allies  by  capturing  the  redoubts  that  guarded  them, 
and  thus  to  enforce  a  retreat  by  depriving  the  enemy  of  supplies. 

The  day  began  with  a  defeat  of  the  Turks  and  the  capture  by 
the  Russians  of  several  of  the  redoubts.  Then  a  great  body  of 
Russian  cavalry,  3,000  strong,  charged  upon  the  93d  Highlanders, 
who  were  drawn  up  in  line  to  receive  them.  There  was  compara- 
tively but  a  handful  of  these  gallant  Scotchmen,  550  all  told,  but 
they  have  made  themselves  famous  in  history  as  the  invincible 
"  thin,  red  line." 


CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  INDIAN  MUTINY  243 

Sir  Colin  Campbell,  their  noble  leader,  said  to  them  :  "  Remem- 
ber, lads,  there  is  no  retreat  from  here.  You  must  die  where  you 
stand." 

"Ay,  ay,  Sir  Colin,"  shouted  the  sturdy  Highlanders,  "we  will 
do  just  that." 

They  did  not  need  to.  The  murderous  fire  from  their  "  thin 
red  line  "  was  more  than  the  Russians  cared  to  endure,  and  they 
were  driven  back  in  disorder. 

The  British  cavalry  completed  the  work  of  the  infantry.  On 
the  serried  mass  of  Russian  horsemen  charged  Scarlett's  Heavy 
Brigade,  vastly  inferior  to  them  in  number,  but  inspired  with  a 
spirit  and  courage  that  carried  its  bold  horsemen  through  the 
Russian  columns  with  such  resistless  energy  that  the  great  body 
of  Muscovite  cavalry  bro'ke  and  fled — 3,000  completely  routed  by 
800  gallant  dragoons. 

And  now  came  the  unfortunate  but  world-famous  event  of  the 
day.  It  was  due  to  a  mistaken  order.  Lord  Raglan,  thinking  that 
the  Russians  intended  to  carry  off  the  guns  captured  in  the  Turk- 
ish redoubts,  sent  an  order  to  the  brigade  of  light  cavalry  to 
"advance  rapidly  to  the  front  and  prevent  the  enemy  from  carry- 
ing off  the  guns." 

CAPTAIN    NOLAN    AND    THE    ORDER    TO    CHARGE 

Lord  Lucan,  to  whom  the  command  was  brought,did  not  under- 
stand it.  Apparently,  Captain  Nolan,  who  conveyed 'the  order,  did 
not  clearly  explain  its  purport. 

"  Lord  Raglan  orders  that  the  cavalry  shall  attack  immedi- 
ately," he  said,  impatient  at  Lucan's  hesitation. 

"  Attack,  sir  ;  attack  what  ?  "  asked  Lucan. 

"There,  my  lord,  is  your  enemy,  there  are  your  guns,"  said 
Nolan,  with  a  wave  of  his  hand  toward  the  hostile  lines. 

The  guns  he  appeared  to  indicate  were  those  of  a  Russian  bat- 
tery at  the  end  of  the  valley,  to  attack  which  by  an  unsupported 


244  CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  INDIAN  MUTINY 

cavalry  charge  was  sheer  madness.      Lucan  rode  to  Lord  Cardigan, 
in  command  of  the  cavalry,  and  repeated  the  order. 

"  But  there  is  a  battery  in  front  of  us  and  guns  and  riflemen  on 
either  flank,"  said  Cardigan. 

"  I  know  it,"  answered  Lucan.  "  But  Lord  Raglan  will  have 
it.  We  have  no  choice  but  to  obey." 

"  The  brigade  will  advance,"  said  Cardigan,  without  further 
hesitation. 

In  a  moment  more  the  "  gallant  six  hundred  "  were  in  motion- 
going  in  the  wrong  direction,  as  Captain  Nolan  is  thought  to  have 
perceived.  At  all  events  he  spurred  his  horse  across  the  front  of 
the  brigade,  waving  his  sword  as  if  with  the  intention  to  set  them 
right.  But  no  one  understood  him,  and  at  that  instant  a  fragment 
of  shell  struck  him  and  hurled  him  dead  to  the  earth.  There  was 
no  further  hope  of  stopping  the  mad  charge. 

THE    CHARGE    OF    THE    LIGHT    BRIGADE 

On  and  on  went  the  devoted  Light  Brigade,  their  pace  increas- 
ing at  every  stride,  headed  straight  for  the  Russian  battery  half  a 
league  away.  As  they  went  fire  was  opened  on  them  from  the  guns 
in  flank.  Soon  they  came  in  range  of  the  guns  in  front,  which 
also  opened  a  raking  fire.  They  were  enveloped  in  "  a  zone  of 
fire,  and  the  air  was  filled  with  the  rush  of  shot,  the  bursting  of 
shells,  and  the  moan  of  bullets,  while  amidst  the  infernal  din  the 
work  of  death  went  on,  and  men  and  horses  were  incessantly 
dashed  to  the  ground." 

But  no  thought  of  retreat  seems  to  have  entered  the  minds  of 
those  brave  dragoons  and  their  gallant  leader.  Their  pace  increased  ; 
they  reached  the  battery  and  dashed  in  among  the  guns  ;  the  gun- 
ners were  cut  down  as  they  served  their  pieces.  Masses  of  Russian 
cavalry  standing  near  were  charged  and  forced  back.  The  men 
fought  madly  in  the  face  of  death  until  the  word  came  to  retreat. 

Then,  emerging  from  the  smoke  of  the  battle,  a  feeble  remnant 
of  the  "gallant  six  hundred"  appeared  upon  the  plain,  comprising 


LITERARY  AND  SCIENTIFIC  MEN  OF  THE  QUEEN'S  REIGN 


THE  QUEEN'S  COLDSTREAM  GUARDS 


BALMORAL  CASTLE,  SCOTLAND 

The  Northern  Home  of  the  Queen  associated  with  the  life  of  the  Prince  ('miser*. 


CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  INDIAN  MUTINY  247 

one  or  two  large  groups,  though  the  most  of  them  were  scattered 
parties  of  two  or  three.  One  group  of  about  seventy  men  cut  their 
way  through  three  squadrons  of  Russian  lancers.  Another  party 
of  equal  strength  broke  through  a  second  intercepting  force.  Out 
of  some  647  men  in  all,  247  were  killed  and  wounded,  and  nearly 
all  the  horses  were  slain.  Lord  Cardigan,  the  first  to  enter  the 
battery,  was  one  of  those  who  came  back  alive.  The  whole  affair 
had  occupied  no  more  than  twenty  minutes.  But  it  was  a  twenty 
minutes  of  which  the  British  nation  has  ever  since  been  proud,  and 
which  Tennyson  has  made  famous  by  one  of  the  most  spirit-stirring 
of  his  odes.  The  French  General  Bosquet  fairly  characterized  it 
by  his  often  quoted  remark  :  "  Oest  magnifique,  mais  ce  ri est pas  la 
guerre."  (It  is  magnificent,  but  it  is  not  war.) 

THE    ASSAULT    AND     CAPTURE     OF    SEBASTOPOL 

These  battles  in  the  field  brought  no  changes  in  the  state  of 
affairs.  The  siege  of  Sebastopol  went  on  through  the  winter  of 
1854-55,  during  which  the  allied  armies  suffered  the  utmost  misery 
and  privation,  partly  the  effect  of  climate,  largely  the  result  of  fraud 
and  incompetency  at  home.  Sisters  of  Mercy  and  self-sacrificing 
English  ladies — chief  among  them  the  noble  Florence  Nightingale — 
strove  to  assuage  the  sufferings  brought  on  the  soldiers  by  cold, 
hunger,  and  disease;  these  enemies  proved  more  fatal  than  the  sword. 

In  the  year  1855  the  war  was  carried  on  with  increased  energy. 
Sardinia  joined  the  allies  and  sent  them  an  army  of  15,000  men. 
Austria  broke  with  Russia  and  began  preparations  for  war.  And 
in  March  the  obstinate  Czar  Nicholas  died  and  his  milder  son 
Alexander  took  his  place.  Peace  was  demanded  in  Russia,  yet 
25,000  of  her  sons  had  fallen  and  the  honor  of  the  nation  seemed 
involved.  The  war  went  on,  both  sides  increasing  their  forces. 
Month  by  month  the  allies  more  closely  invested  the  besieged  city. 
After  the  middle  of  August  the  assault  became  almost  incessant, 
cannon-balls  dropping  like  an  unceasing  storm  of  hail  in  forts  and 
streets. 


248  CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  INDIAN  MUTINY 

On  the  5th  of  September  began  a  terrific  bombardment,  con- 
tinuing day  and  night  for  three  days  and  sweeping  down  more  than 
5,000  Russians  on  the  ramparts.  At  length,  as  the  hour  of  noon 
struck  on  September  8th,  the  attack  of  which  this  play  of  artillery 
was  the  prelude  began,  the  French  assailing  Malakoff,  the  British 
the  Redan,  these  being  the  most  formidable  of  the  defensive  works 
of  the  town.  The  French  assault  was  successful  and  Sebastopol 
became  untenable.  That  night  the  Russians  blew  up  their  remain- 
ing forts,  sunk  their  ships  of  war,  and  marched  out  of  the  town, 
leaving  it  as  the  prize  of  the  victory  to  the  allies.  Soon  after 
Russia  gained  a  success  by  capturing  the  Turkish  fortress  of  Kars, 
in  Asia  Minor,  and,  her  honor  satisfied  with  this  success,  a  treaty 
of  peace  was  concluded.  In  this  treaty  the  Black  Sea  was  made 
neutral  and  all  ships  of  war  were  excluded  from  its  waters,  while 
the  safety  of  the  Christians  of  Wallachia,  Moldavia  and  Servia 
was  assured  by  making  those  principalities  practically  independent 
under  the  protection  of  the  Powers  of  Europe. 

Sufferings  on  the  part  of  the  British  soldiers  roused  every 
English  man  and  woman  to  sympathy  and  pity. 

Florence  Nightingale  was  sent  out  by  Sidney  Herbert  with  a 
party  of  nurses,  many  of  them  volunteers,  to  Scutari,  and  soon,  by 
her  skill  and  firmness,  put  the  wretched  hospital  in  order,  and 
bestowed  on  the  wounded  every  possible  alleviation  of  their  anguish. 
Forty  more  nurses  followed,  headed  by  Miss  Stanley. 

The  London  Times  opened  a  subscription  for  the  sick  and 
wounded,  and  sent  a  Commissioner  out  to  the  Crimea  to  administer 
the  funds  thus  raised  for  the  soldiers  in  comforts  and  medicines. 
In  less  than  a  fortnight  $75,000  had  been  received  by  the  paper, 
and  on  re-opening  the  subscription  it  was  increased  to  over  $100,000, 
a  large  sum  at  that  time.  The  Prince,  meantime,  at  the  head  of  a 
royal  commission,  founded  the  Patriotic  Fund,  to  which  the  nation 
contributed  a  million  and  a  quarter  pounds  or  nearly  seven  million 
dollars.  Private  acts  of  patriotic  benevolence  supplemented  the 
public  munificence.  The  Queen  herself,  the  elder  Princesses,  and 


CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  INDIAN  MUTINY  249 

her  Majesty's  ladies  knitted  woollen  comforters,  mittens,  and  other 
warm  clothing,  which  were  sent  out  and  distributed  amongst  the 
soldiers.  The  Prince  sent  warm  fur  coats  and  a  liberal  supply  of 
tobacco. 

THE  QUEEN'S  SOLICITUDE 

Her  Majesty,  also,  when  sending  her  congratulations  to  her 
troops  on  the  New  Year,  through  Lord  Raglan,  wrote  :  "  The  sad 
privations  of  the  army,  the  bad  weather,  and  the  constant  sickness 
are  causes  of  the  deepest  concern  and  anxiety  to  the  Queen  and 
Prince.  The  braver  her  noble  troops  are,  the  more  patiently  and 
heroically  they  bear  all  their  trials  and  sufferings,  the  more 
miserable  we  feel  at  their  long  continuance.  .  .  .  The  Queen  heard 
that  their  coffee  was  given  them  green,  instead  of  roasted,  and 
some  other  things  of  this  kind,  which  has  distressed  her.  .  .  .  The 
Queen  earnestly  trusts  that  the  large  amount  of  warm  clothing 
sent  out  has  not  only  reached  Balaklava,  but  has  been  distributed, 
and  that  Lord  Raglan  has  been  successful  in  procuring  the  means 
of  hutting  the  men.  Lord  Raglan  cannot  think  how  much  we  suffer 
for  the  army,  and  how  painfully  anxious  we  are  to  know  that  their 
privations  are  decreasing." 

Great  numbers  of  wounded  and  disabled  soldiers  were  sent 
home  from  time  to  time,  and  the  Queen  and  Prince  went  to  see 
them,  and  ascertain  how  they  were  cared  for.  They  visited  the 
military  hospitals  at  Brompton  and  Fort  Pitt,  Rochester,  where 
many  wounded  men  had  recently  arrived.  They  took  with  them 
the  two  eldest  princes.  A  sad  sight  indeed  those  wounded  and 
mutilated  men  must  have  been  for  their  tender-hearted  Queen. 
But  for  them  her  words  of  praise  and  pity  were  as  true  balm. 

The  Queen  was  satisfied  that  her  soldiers  were  treated  with 
every  care  and  kindness  at  the  hospitals,  but  her  Majesty  was  not 
pleased  with  the  little  wards,  with  high  windows  "like  prisons,"  nor 
with  the  want  of  a  dining-hall  for  the  invalids,  who  were  obliged  to 
eat  in  their  wards.  Her  Majesty  requested  Lord  Panmure  (the 
Secretary  for  War)  to  take  steps  at  once  for  the  erection  of  proper 


250 

hospitals  for  the  soldiers.  Lord  Panmure  was  anxious  to  obey  the 
Queen,  and  her  Majesty's  idea  was  afterward  embodied  in  Netley 
Hospital  which  became  associated  with  the  Queen's  last  year  in 
her  visits  to  wounded  soldiers  from  South  Africa. 

THE    QUEEN    PRESENTS    CRIMEAN    MEDALS 

On  the  1 8th  of  May,  1855,  the  Queen  presented  their  Crimean 
medals  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  who  had  returned  wounded  from 
the  Alma,  Balaklava,  and  Inkermann.  The  ceremony  took  place  on 
the  parade  between  the  Horseguards  and  St.  James'  Park.  Every 
spot  was  thronged  with  spectators.  Soon  after  ten  the  Queen  and 
Prince  took  their  places  on  a  dais  raised  for  the  occasion. 

"After  the  customary  ceremony  of  marching  past,  the  line 
formed  three  sides  of  a  square  facing  the  dais.  The  names  of  the 
officers  and  men  entitled  to  decorations  were  called  over  by  the 
Deputy  Adjutant-General,  and  each  person  passing  in  succession  was 
presented  with  a  medal.  As  each  soldier  came  up,  Lord  Panmure 
(Secretary  of  War)  handed  the  Queen  the  medal  to  which  he  was 
entitled  ;  and  the  soldier,  having  saluted  her  Majesty,  passed  on  to 
the  rear,  where  they  might  be  seen  proudly  exhibiting  their  medals 
to  admiring  groups,  both  of  friends  and  strangers." 

The  Queen  writes  to  the  King  of  the  Belgians  :  "  Ernest  will 
have  told  you  what  a  beautiful  and  touching  sight  and  ceremony 
(the  first  of  the  kind  ever  witnessed  in  England)  the  distribution  of 
the  medals  was.  From  the  highest  prince  of  the  blood  to  the 
lowest  private,  all  received  the  same  distinction  for  the  bravest  con- 
duct in  the  severest  actions,  and  the  rough  hand  of  the  brave  and 
honest  private  soldier  came  for  the  first  time  in  contact  with  that 
of  his  Sovereign  and  his  Queen.  Noble  fellows  !  I  own  I  feel  as 
if  they  were  my  own  children — my  heart  beats  for  them  as  for  my 
nearest  and  dearest !  They  were  so  touched,  so  pleased  ;  many,  I 
hear,  cried,  and  they  won't  hear  of  giving  up  their  medals  to  have 
their  names  engraved  upon  them,  for  fear  they  should  not  receive 
the  identical  one  put  into  their  hands  by  me  ! " 


CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  INDIAN  MUTINY  251 

The  Queen  often  visited  the  wounded  at  Chatham  and  at  Fort 
Pitt,  and  a  gentleman  who  was  then  much  with  the  young  royal  family 
(whose  instructor  in  art  he  had  been  constituted  by  the  Prince)  has 
favored  us  with  an  interesting  anecdote  of  one  of  many  interviews 
between  the  Queen  and  her  soldiers.  It  was  related  to  him  by  her 
Royal  Highness  the  Princess  Royal  (now  the  Empress  Dowager 
Frederic  of  Germany)  as  an  instance  that  "some  men  are  by  nature 
born  courtiers,  others  utterly  destitute  of  civility  or  courtesy."  We  see 
in  it,  also,  how  fully  her  Majesty's  goodness  to  her  troops  was  appre- 
ciated, and  how  a  chivalrous  loyalty  could  refine  and  inspire  a  private 
soldier. 

THE    QUEEN    SEES    THE    WOUNDED    VETERANS 

The  Queen,  on  one  occasion,  expressed  her  wish  to  see  some 
of  the  convalescent  wounded  (who  were  equal  to  make  the  jour- 
ney) at  Buckingham  Palace ;  and  a  certain  number  were  sent 
thither  in  accordance  with  her  Majesty's  command.  They  were 
ranged  in  the  hall,  lining  the  walls  all  round. 

Her  Majesty  entered  shortly  afterwards,  and  gazing  with  a 
gracious  kindness  and  sadness  on  the  feeble,  mutilated  men  before 
her,  sighed  deeply,  and  was  heard  to  say  something  of  the  horrors 
and  sufferings  caused  by  war,  and  to  hope  that  the  time  would  soon 
come  when  the  swords  should  be  beaten  into  ploughshares,  and  the 
spears  into  pruning  hooks,  and  when  men  should  not  learn  war 
any  more. 

The  soldiers  had  risen  and  saluted  as  the  Sovereign  entered, 
and  remained  standing.  But  glancing  with  pity  at  their  enfeebled 
forms,  her  Majesty  directed  that  they  should  be  all  told  to  sit  down, 
except  the  man  to  whom  she  spoke  and  the  one  next  to  him.  Then 
when  the  Queen  had  passed  him  the  first  was  told  to  sit  down  and 
the  third  to  rise,  while  her  Majesty  spoke  to  the  second.  Thus  two 
were  always  standing. 

To  one  of  these  men  the  Queen  said,  "  I  see  you  have  lost 
your  right  arm  ;  where  were  you  wounded  ?" 

"In  the  trenches,  your  Majesty,"  was  the  reply. 


252  CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  INDIAN  MUTINY 

"  Now,  I  suppose  you  feel  pain  still  at  certain  changes  of  the 
weather?  Is  it  .not  so  ?  "  the  Queen  asked. 

"Your  Majesty,"  replied  the  soldier,   "  I  always  feel  it." 

As  he  spoke  he  put  his  fingers  on  his  heart,  but  the  thumb 
pointed  to  his  left  shoulder. 

The  Queen  turned  to  the  medical  officer  and  said,  "  I  have 
often  heard,  but  could  never  understand  how  it  was,  that  the  loss 
of  a  limb  on  one  side  of  the  body  gives  rise  to  a  pain  on  the  oppo- 
site side  ;  how  is  it  to  be  accounted  for  ?" 

The  soldier  asked  if  he  might  be  pardoned  for  explaining  him- 
self, and  her  Majesty  said  she  would  rather  hear  the  explanation 
from  him  than  from  one  who  had  not  experienced  it. 

"Your  Majesty,"  then  said  the  soldier,  "the  time  was  that  I 
had  an  arm  with  which  to  wield  a  v/eapon  in  your  Majesty's  service, 
and  had  I  had  fifty  arms  I  would  have  devoted  them  all  to  serve 
your  Majesty  and  my  country  ;  but  now  I  have  lost  that  arm — and 
it  gives  me  a  pain  here." 

The  Queen  then  perceived  that  with  his  fingers  he  pointed  to 
his  heart.  She  was  touched,  and  said  most  feelingly,  "  I  thank  you 
for  that !  I  thank  you  for  that ! " 

After  speaking  to  about  four  more,  and  hearing  all  they  had  to 
say,  her  Majesty  made  some  few  remarks  on  the  horrors  of  war, 
the  pain  to  individuals,  and  the  manifold  losses  to  families  and  the 
country  generally.  At  length  she  came  to  a  soldier  who  supported 
himself  on  crutches,  and  asked  him,  "  And  where  did  you  receive 
your  wound  ?  " 

A  gruff  voice,  in  a  rough  dialect,  answered  laconically,  "  Bang 
through  my  thigh." 

The  Princess  observed,  "  This  man  was  of  the  same  rank  in 
life,  but  entirely  without  the  inborn  courtesy  of  the  first.  In  short, 
the  one  was,  and  the  other  was  not,  born  a  courtier." 

During  these  trying  days  the  Queen  lived  for  a  part  of  the 
time  with  her  family  in  her  new  castle  in  Scotland,  Balmoral.  Here 
telegraphic  messages  arrived  quickly  one  after  another ;  one 


CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  INDIAN  MUTINY  253 

announcing  that  the  fire  on  Sebastopol  had  been  re-opened  ;  that 
the  French  guns  had  destroyed  one  of  the  ships  in  the  harbor  ; 
the  destruction  of  another  Russian  ship  and  of  part  of  the  city 
being  on  fire  was  announced,  followed  by  repeated  reports  of  the 
success  of  the  terrible  struggle.  At  last  came  the  tidings,  "  Sebas- 
topol is  in  the  hands  of  the  allies." 

The  news  reached  Lord  Granville,  the  Minister  with  the 
Queen,  at  half-past  ten  at  night. 

The  Prince  at  once  proposed  lighting  the  bonfire  that  had 
been  prepared  the  year  before  in  consequence  of  a  false  report  of 
victory.  A  high  wind  had  blown  it  down  on  that  5th  of  Novem- 
ber when  our  soldiers  were  contending  with  the  Russian  hosts  at 
Inkermann,  "and  now  again,"  adds  the  Queen,  "most  strangely  it 
only  seemed  to  wait  our  return  to  be  lit." 

In  a  few  minutes  the  Prince  and  the  gentlemen,  accompanied 
by  all  the  servants,  and  gradually  joined  by  the  population  of  the 
villages,  keepers,  gillies,  and  workmen,  ascended  to  the  top  of  the 
cairn  and  lighted  the  bonfire.  It  blazed  forth  brightly,  and  its 
flame  bore  over  the  Scottish  hills  tidings  of  the  great  victory,  to 
gain  which  so  many  of  their  gallant  sons  had  bled.  Since  the 
signal  fires  of  the  Armada,  never  had  bonfire  or  beacon  conveyed 
more  important  tidings  to  the  people. 

The  first  act  of  the  Queen  after  hearing  of  the  taking  of  Sebas- 
topol was  to  telegraph  her  congratulations  to  her  ally,  the  Emperor, 
and  to  request  Lord  Panmure  to  send  her  Majesty's  warmest  con- 
gratulations to  General  Simpson  (who  had  succeeded  Lord  Raglan) 
and  General  Pelissier. 

On  May  30,  1856,  peace  was  signed  between  England  and 
France  and  Russia.  The  Tower  guns  were  fired  to  announce  it, 
and  the  Lord  Mayor,  standing  on  the  balcony  of  the  Mansion 
House,  read  the  announcement  to  the  assembled  crowds,  who 
cheered  the  news  lustily. 

The  Tower  guns  fired  again,  the  church  bells  rang  every- 
where. There  was  universal  joy.  For  that  war  had  brought  grief 


254  CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  INDIAN  MUTINY 

into  almost  every  household  ;  nearly  every  family  had  given  one  of 
its  members,  generally  the  best  beloved,  to  the  Moloch  of  Russian 
ambition  and  greed  ;  and  they  knew  that  the  foe  was  a  savage  one, 
who  even  murdered  the  wounded  on  the  field  of  battle. 

The  Queen's  thankfulness  was  extreme.  She  had  suffered  so 
much  that  her  health  was  affected  by  anxiety  and  sorrow  for  her 
soldiers,  and  her  children  said  that  if  the  war  did  not  soon  end  "  it 
would  kill  mamma." 

HER    PRIME    MINISTER    HONORED 

There  had  been  some  little  strain  in  the  relations  between  her 
Majesty  and  Lord  Palmerston  when  he  was  Foreign  Minister  ;  and 
his  partisans  were  said  to  have  originated  the  slanders  against  the 
Prince.  But  the  Queen's  disposition  was  to  "forgive  and  forget" 
more  easily  than  most  of  her  Majesty's  subjects,  and  was  never 
unfair,  even  to  those  with  whom  she  has  had  just  cause  for  dis- 
pleasure. Now,  when  the  war  had  thus  reached  its  successful  con- 
clusion, she  wrote  graciously  to  her  Prime  Minister  to  express  her 
approval  of  the  zealous  and  able  conduct  of  it,  and  conferred  on 
him  the  Order  of  the  Garter.  The  honor  was  gratefully  accepted 
by  Lord  Palmerston,  who  henceforward  continued  in  favor  with 
his  royal  mistress.  He  was  always  popular  with  the  people,  who 
greatly  appreciated  his  jealousy  for  the  honor  of  England  and  the 
safety  of  Englishmen.  The  more  he  was  disliked  by  foreign  Courts, 
the  more  he  was  liked  by  the  great  mass  of  his  countrymen,  who, 
ignorant  of  foreign  affairs,  thought  very  naturally  that  his  disfavor 
abroad  was  a  sign  of  his  devotion  to  their  interests  at  home. 

In  the  early  days  of  this  war  the  Queen  was  deprived  of  one 
of  England's  greatest  warriors, — he  whose  name  had  been  her  best 
earthly  defence  was  taken  from  her.  Full  of  years  and  honors  the 
great  Duke  of  Wellington  fell  asleep.  His  guard  of  his  beloved 
country  was  relieved.  The  sad  nev/s  reached  her  Majesty  at  Bal- 
moral, and  caused  her  the  most  profound  regret.  The  Duke  had 
known  her  from  her  cradle,  and  had  loved  her  as  a  daughter,  while 


E'  O 


C-   W 

5   H 

f  i 


THE  QUEEN  AND  HER  LITTLE  GRANDSON,  PRINCE  WILLIAM   OF  PRUSSIA 

By  M.  L.  Gow,  R.I. 


CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  INDIAN  MUTINY  257 

he  revered  her  as  a  sovereign.  The  grief  of  the  country  was  also 
deep  and  sincere. 

A  magnificent  funeral  was  given  to  the  dead  hero  by  the 
nation.  With  great  pomp  and  solemn  reverence  he  was  laid  to 
rest  by  the  side  of  as  great  a  hero,  and  one  who  had  fully  shared 
his  high  sense  of  duty.  He  lies  by  the  side  of  Nelson  in  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral  in  London. 

The  funeral  procession  was  magnificent,  all  nations  (save 
Austria)  sending  a  representative  mourner,  some  bearing  the  Field 
Marshal's  baton,  bestowed  on  the  Duke  by  their  country,  on  a 
velvet  cushion,  as  that  of  England  also  was. 

The  Queen  watched  the  procession  from  Buckingham  Palace, 
and  again  from  St.  James'  Palace,  seeing  with  tender  regret  thus 
pass  from  her  one  of  her  most  faithful  and  devoted  friends.  It  had 
been  given  to  her  to  have,  as  the  champion  of  herself  and  her 
people,  a  soldier  whose  campaigns  were  unsullied  by  cruelties  or 
crimes — a  knight  "  without  fear  and  without  reproach." 

THE     INDIAN    MUTINY 

Toward  the  end  of  April,  1857,  came  fearful  tidings  from 
India.  That  country  was  still  under  the  rule  of  the  company  of 
merchants  for  whom  Clive  had  won  it,  and  had  long  been  a  field 
for  the  exercise  of  those  great  merchants'  patronage  ;  their  army 
of  sepoys  being  officered  by  Englishmen,  and  their  civil  service 
being  better  paid  than  that  of  the  Queen.  The  Anglo-Indian 
community  had  been,  especially  of  late  years,  on  very  good  terms 
with  the  richer  natives  ;  but  far-seeing  men  had  warned  them  for 
some  time  that  they  were  living  over  a  volcano,  that  there  was  a 
great  though  smothered  discontent,  although  the  people  were  now 
treated  with  much  justice,  and  the  "  pagola  tree  "  could  no  longer 
be  shaken  to  make  an  adventurer's  fortune.  The  native  army  was, 
it  was  said,  disaffected,  and  agitators  (perhaps  foreign  agents)  took 
pains  to  tell  the  people  that  the  English  intended  to  make  them 
lose  caste — an  awful  loss,  as  it  entailed  a  kind  of  excommunication 


258  CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  INDIAN  MUTINY 

in  this  world,  and  loss  of  eternal  happiness  in  the  next.  This 
injury  was  to  be  effected  by  stratagem.  Their  cartridges  were 
to  be  greased  with  the  fat  of  the  cow — the  sacred  animal  of 
the  Hindoo — and  with  pig's  fat,  the  pig  being  the  abhorred  animal 
of  the  Mahometans  :  to  touch  the  former  would  be  sacrilege  ;  the 
latter,  degradation.  Moreover,  there  were  prophecies  about  that 
the  infidels  would  be  driven  from  India  on  the  centenary  of  their 
conquest,  and  it  was  just  a  hundred  years  since  the  fatal  battle  of 
Plassy  had  made  them  masters  of  Hindostan. 

These  whispers  roused  all  the  superstitious  fear  and  hopes  of 
the  people.  They  resolved  on  a  general  and  simultaneous  rising, 
when  they  would  massacre  every  European  in  the  country.  Hap- 
pily, however,  the  outbreak  took  place  too  soon,  and  was  not,  there- 
fore, simultaneous.  Some  sepoys  at  Meerut  refused  to  use  the  new 
cartridges,  though  they  were  assured  that  they  were  not  greased, 
and  for  their  refusal  they  were  committed  to  prison. 

On  the  following  Sunday  the  other  sepoys,  stationed  there, 
broke  out  into  open  mutiny,  fired  on  their  officers,  broke  open  the 
prison  and  released  their  comrades,  massacring  many  of  the  Eng- 
lish. The  European  troops,  however,  gathered  and  drove  them 
from  their  cantonments,  and  the  rebels  hurried  off  to  Delhi  to  pro- 
claim the  old  king. 

On  entering  the  ancient  capital  of  the  Moguls  and  Mahome- 
tan emperors,  they  proceeded,  with  the  sanction  of  the  kings  and 
princes,  to  perpetrate  the  greatest  and  most  horrible  cruelties 
against  the  British,  murdering  women  and  children  with  fiendish 
tortures,  whole  families  of  European  residents  being  massacred  in 
one  day. 

The  Governor-General,  Lord  Canning,  acted  with  great  energy 
and  decision.  He  stopped  some  troops  on  their  way  to  China, 
where  war  was  going  on,  and  gathered  a  force  to  march  on  Delhi 
at  once.  Happily  the  sepoys  of  Bombay  and  Madras  continued 
faithful,  and  the  recently-conquered  Sikhs  were  ready  to  fight  on 
our  side  against  the  Hindoos  whom  they  hated. 


CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  INDIAN  MUTINY  259 

Delhi,  floating  with  the  blood  of  English  men,  women  and 
children,  was  at  once  besieged,  but  it  was  not  until  after  an  invest- 
ment of  three  months,  and  a  terrible  sacrifice  of  life  by  the  British 
army  in  the  assault  of  the  town,  that  it  was  taken.  Many  deeds 
of  heroic  valor  were  performed  outside  those  blood-stained  walls, 
which  are  seven  miles  in  circumference. 

The  telegram  relating  to  the  investment  of  Delhi,  and  contain- 
ing the  terrible  announcement  that  the  sepoys  of  Bengal  were  all 
in  revolt,  murdering  every  British  or  European  man  or  woman  they 
could  reach,  thoroughly  alarmed  the  Government,  who  had  chosen 
before  to  be  sceptical  as  to  the  rumors  of  the  mutiny. 

How  much  keener  the  Queen's  intelligence  was  is  proved  by 
the  subjoined  portions  of  two  letters  of  her  Majesty's  which  we 
quote  from  "The  Life  of  the  Prince  Consort,"  in  order  that  our 
readers  may  see  how  active  and  energetic  her  Majesty  was  as  a 
ruler  : — 

THE  QUEEN'S  KEENNESS  OF  PERCEPTION 

"  The  Queen  has  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  Lord  Palmer- 
ston's  letter  of  yesterday.  She  has  long  been  of  the  opinion  that 
reinforcements  waiting  to  go  to  India  should  not  be  delayed. 

"  The  moment  is  certainly  a  very  critical  one,  and  the  addi- 
tional reinforcements  now  proposed  will  be  much  wanted.  The 
Queen  entirely  agrees  with  Lord  Panmure  that  it  will  be  good 
policy  to  oblige  the  East  India  Company  to  keep  permanently  a 
larger  portion  of  the  royal  army  in  East  India  than  heretofore. 
The  empire  has  nearly  doubled  itself  within  the  last  twenty  years, 
and  the  Queen's  troops  have  been  kept  on  the  old  establishment. 
.  .  .  The  Queen  hopes  that  the  reinforcements  will  be  sent  out 
in  their  brigade  formation,  and  not  in  detached  regiments.  Good 
commanding  officers,  knowing  their  troops,  will  be  of  the  highest 
importance,  next  to  the  troops  themselves.  The  Queen  must  ask 
that  the  troops  by  whom  we  shall  be  diminished  at  home  by  trans- 
fer of  so  many  regiments  to  the  Company,  should  be  forthwith 
replaced  by  an  increase  of  the  establishment  up  to  the  number 


260  CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  INDIAN  MUTINY 

voted  by  Parliament,  and  for  which  the  estimates  have  been  taken  ; 
else  we  denude  ourselves  altogether  to  a  degree  dangerous  to  our 
own  safety  at  home,  and  incapable  of  meeting  a  sudden  emergency, 
which,  as  the  present  example  shows,  may  come  upon  us  at  any 
moment.  If  we  had  not  been  reduced  in  such  a  hurry  this  spring 
we  would  now  have  all  the  men  wanted." 

Lord  Palmerston  wrote  to  the  Queen  :  "Viscount  Palmerston 
presents  his  humble  duty  to  your  Majesty,  and  has  had  the  honor 
to  receive  your  Majesty's  communications  of  yesterday"  (this 
relates  to  a  matter  following  the  one  we  have  just  given),  "stating 
what  your  Majesty  would  have  said  if  your  Majesty  had  been  in 
the  House  of  Commons.  Viscount  Palmerston  may  perhaps  be 
permitted  to  take  the  liberty  of  saying  that  it  is  fortunate  for  those 
from  whom  your  Majesty  differs  that  your  Majesty  is  not  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  for  they  would  have  had. to  encounter  a  for- 
midable antagonist  in  argument ;  although,  on  the  other  hand, 
those  whose  opinions  your  Majesty  approves  would  have  had  the 
support  of  a  powerful  ally  in  debate. 

"  But  with  regard  to  the  arrangements  in  connection  with  the 
state  of  affairs  in  India,  Viscount  Palmerston  can  assure  your 
Majesty  that  the  Government  are  taking,  and  will  not  fail  to  con- 
tinue to  take,  every  measure  which  may  appear  well  adapted  to  the 
emergency ;  but  measures  are  sometimes  best  calculated  to  succeed 
which  follow  each  other  step  by  step." 

The  Queen  was  not  at  all  inclined  to  think  a  "step-by-step" 
policy  suited  to  such  a  rapid  and  terrible  struggle,  and  she  wrote 
from  Osborne  : 

"  The  Queen  is  anxious  to  impress  in  the  most  earnest  manner 
upon  her  Government  the  necessity  of  our  taking  a  comprehensive 
view  of  our  military  position  at  the  present  momentous  crisis, 
instead  of  going  on  without  a  plan,  living  from  hand  to  mouth,  and 
taking  small  isolated  measures  without  reference  to  each  other. 
The  principle  which  the  Queen  thinks  ought  to  be  adopted  is  this  : 
that  the  force  which  has  been  absorbed  by  the  Indian  demand  be 


CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  INDIAN  MUTINY  261 

replaced  to  its  full  extent  and  in  the  same  kind,  not  whole  battalions 
by  a  mere  handful  of  recruits  added  to  the  remaining  ones.  This 
will  not  only  cost  the  Government  nothing — because  the  East 
India  Company  will  pay  the  battalions  transferred,  and  the  money 
voted  for  them  by  Parliament  will  be  applicable  to  the  new  ones— 
but  it  will  be  a  considerable  saving,  as  all  the  officers  reduced  from 
the  war  establishment  and  receiving  half  pay  will  be  thus  absorbed, 
and  no  longer  a  burden  on  the  exchequer.  Keeping  these  new  bat- 
talions on  a  low  establishment,  which  will  naturally  be  the  case  at 
first,  the  depots  and  reserves  should  be  raised  in  men,  the  Indian 
depots  keeping  at  least  two  companies  of  100  men  each." 

Her  Majesty  then  considered  the  only  two  objections  that  could 
be  raised — one,  that  the  men  could  not  be  got.  She  says,  "  Try, 
and  you  will  see."  Next,  that  the  East  India  Company  might 
demur ;  but  the  Queen  assured  her  Minister  that  henceforward 
they  must  have  European  regiments,  and  that  they  could  not  be 
allowed  to  raise  troops  for  themselves.  Her  Majesty  adds  with 
one  of  her  tender  womanly  touches  : 

"  The  present  condition  of  the  Queen's  army  is  a  pitiable  one. 
The  Queen  has  just  seen  in  the  camp  at  Aldershot  regiments  which 
after  eighteen  years'  foreign  service  in  most  trying  climates,  had 
come  back  to  England  to  be  sent  out,  after  seven  months,  to  Crimea. 
Having  passed  through  this  destructive  campaign,  they  have  not 
been  home  for  a  year  before  they  are  to  go  to  India  for  perhaps 
twenty  years!  This  is  most  cruel  and  unfair  to  the  gallant  men 
who  devote  their  services  to  the  country,  and  the  Government  is  in 
duty  and  humanity  bound  to  alleviate  their  position." 

The  Queen's  influence  prevailed,  and  on  the  22d  the  Prince 
recorded  in  his  diary,  "The  cabinet  has  at  last  adopted  our 
suggestions  for  an  increase  of  the  army." 

The  defenceless  and  crippled  state  of  England  at  .this  time 
made  the  Cabinet  as  well  as  the  Queen  very  uneasy.  They  began 
to  perceive  a  change  in  the  conduct  of  foreign  governments,  and 
were  very  uneasy  at  their  position  with  regard  to  France. 

is 


262  CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  INDIAN  MUTINY 

However,  in  August  the  Emperor  and  Empress  of  the  French 
paid  a  private  visit  to  Osborne,  and  then  matters  were  made  better. 
Lords  Palmerston  and  Clarendon  came  to  Osborne  to  meet  the 
Emperor,  who  had  with  him  his  Ministers,  and  long  conferences 
followed,  which  ended  in  obviating  the  serious  rupture  between  the 
powers  that  had  appeared  imminent.  The  dissension  had  been 
caused  by  a  quarrel  about  the  Principalities  on  the  Danube,  with 
France,  Russia,  Prussia,  and  Sardinia  on  one  side,  and  England, 
Austria,  and  Turkey  on  the  other. 

The  visit  was  made  very  pleasant  to  the  Emperor  and  Empress, 
and  the  Emperor  wrote,  on  his  return  to  France,  a  grateful  and 
cordial  letter  to  his  royal  friends. 

The  Queen  prorogued  Parliament  on  the  2/th,  and  the  same 
day  the  Court  left  London  for  Balmoral.  Here  terrible  details 
from  India  awaited  them. 

The  mutiny  had  broken  out  at  Cawnpore,  where  General  Sir 
Hugh  Wheeler  had  only  about  three  hundred  soldiers  with  him, 
and  where  the  defenceless  Europeans  and  Eurasian  population  he 
had  tc  protect  numbered  about  a  thousand  families.  Sir  Hugh  was 
a  very  old  man,  seventy-five  years  of  age.  Expecting  the  revolt, 
the  moment  he  heard  of  that  which  had  taken  place  at  Meerut  he 
applied  to  Sir  Henry  Lawrence,  who  commanded  at  Lucknow,  for 
help.  Sir  Henry,  himself  besieged,  could  give  none  !  Then  Sir 
Hugh  applied  to  a  man  who  was,  he  believed,  a  friend  to  the  Eng- 
lish, and  at  his  request  the  Nana  Sahib  of  Bithoor  came  with  two 
guns  and  three  hundred  men  to  help  him.  But  the  Nana  was  a 
traitor.  Deep  in  his  heart  he  nourished  the  bitterest  hatred  of  the 
English,  because  Lord  Dalhousie  had  disallowed  his  claim  on  his 
adopted  father's  estates.  Nana  Sahib  had  sent  an  agent  some 
time  before  to  press  his  claims  on  the  English  Government.  This 
man,  very  handsome,  and  very  clever,  had  been  a  servant  in  an 
Anglo-Indian  family,  and  had  learned  a  little  French  and  English. 
The  footman,  Azimoolah  Khan,  visited  London  in  1854,  and  \vas 
received  into  the  best  society,  made  a  lion  of,  and  actually  believed 


CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  INDIAN  MUTINY  263 

that  the  noblest  ladies  were  dying  of  love  for  him  !  On  his  way 
back,  unsuccessful  in  his  mission,  he  visited  the  Crimea.  He 
arrived  at  England's  worst  hour  there,  and  went  back  to  his  master 
full  of  the  certainty  that  the  English  power  was  on  the  wane. 
The  Nana  now  fully  believed,  no  doubt,  that  the  fall  of  the  Brit- 
ish was  at  hand.  When  he  came  to  Cawnpore  he  might  have 
meant  to  aid  Sir  Hugh  ;  as  it  was  he  headed  the  mutineers  against 
him.  Sir  Hugh  had,  when  the  mutiny  began,  gathered  those  he 
had  to  protect  inside  an  old  hospital,  the  mud  walls  of  which  were 
only  four  feet  high.  However,  when  his  treacherous  "  Friend  " 
called  on  him  to  surrender,  he  refused,  and  made  a  most  heroic 
defence. 

RECOURSE    TO    TREACHERY 

The  Nana  had,  indeed,  to  have  recourse  to  treachery  to  gain 
the  miserable  fortress.  He  offered  terms  to  Sir  Hugh.  He  would 
send  him  and  his  survivors  of  the  desperate  defence  by  water  to 
Allahabad  if  he  would  yield.  The  terms  were  accepted  ;  for  the 
besieged  were  dying  of  starvation  and  dysentry.  They  embarked 
in  native  boats,  and  were  allowed  to  gain  the  middle  of  the  stream, 
when  the  thatch  of  the  boats  was  set  on  fire,  and  the  traitor's  sol- 
diers by  his  order  fired  on  the  English.  The  men  were  all 
murdered  ;  the  women  made  captives  ;  but  their  fate  was  only 
deferred. 

The  Nana  soon  found  that  Azimoolah  had  been  mistaken. 
General  Niel  had  retaken  Allahabad,  and  cleared  the  country 
around  it  ;  Havelock  was  advancing  with  his  invincible  little  force 
of  one  thousand  men  and  six  guns,  and  had  beaten  Tantia  Topee, 
the  Nana's  general  (who  had  four  thousand  men  and  twelve  guns) 
in  a  battle  lasting  only  ten  minutes.  The  Nana  saw  he  must 
retreat ;  but  first  he  would  have  his  revenge.  He  ordered  the 
sepoys  to  fire  into  the  room  occupied  by  the  captive  English  women 
and  children  ;  but  the  men  (to  their  honor)  fired  too  high  to  do 
harm  ;  then  the  monster  Nana  sent  in  men  of  his  body-guard,  who 
actually  cut  the  poor  captives  nearly  to  pieces,  though  some  were 


264  CRIMEAN  WAR  AND  INDIAN  MUTINY 

found  alive  the  next  morning ;  but  all,  alive  or  dead,  were  by  his 
direction  thrown  into  a  dry  well  ! 

On  entering  the  town  Havelock's  soldiers  learned  the  horrid 
truth,  and  turned  weeping  from  the  well  of  Cawnpore.  Above  it 
now  stands  the  English  church.  Terrible  vengeance  was  taken  on 
the  murderers. 

The  defence  of  Lucknow  was  another  wonderful  instance  of 
English  pluck  and  determination.  Sir  Henry  Lawrence  held  it 
with  a  garrison  of  only  five  hundred  soldiers  against  fifty  thousand 
sepoys.  He  defended  the  women  and  children  till  his  death  ;  then 
his  officers  assumed  his  duties,  till  at  length  the  gallant  Havelock 
and  his  little  band  of  heroes  cut  their  way  through  and  entered  the 
Residency.  But  they  could  not  take  the  ladies  and  children  back 
through  the  encircling  foes,  and  had  in  turn  to  stay  and  defend 
them.  Here  he  remained  till  Lord  Clyde  arrived  and  released  the 
helpless  garrison. 

The  poetry  and  heroism  of  Havelock  have  rendered  his  name 
as  dear  to  Englishmen  as  that  of  Gordon,  his  worthy  successor  in 
the  national  affections.  He  did  not  live  to  return  from  that  awful 
conflict  in  Oude,  dying  of  dysentery,  after  Lord  Clyde  (Sir  Colin 
Campbell)  had  relieved  Lucknow. 

It  was  this  terrible  news  that  reached  Balmoral.  They  heard 
of  the  massacre  at  Cawnpore,  of  the  danger  of  Lucknow,  and  that 
Delhi  still  held  out. 

The  Queen  was  glad  to  hear  that  Lord  Palmerston  had  sug- 
gested to  the  Archbishop  a  Sunday  for  special  prayer.  Her 
Majesty  had  suggested  during  the  Crimean  war  that  the  prayer  to 
be  used  before  a  fight  at  sea  is  best  suited  to  such  occasions. 

By-and-by  the  cloud  parted — Delhi  was  taken,  Lucknow  .was 
relieved,  everywhere  vengeance  (to  the  Queen's  great  regret)  fell 
on  the  mutineers.  England,  alone,  had  come  victorious  through  a 
crisis  of  unequalled  peril,  and  had,  as  Lord  Palmerston  phrased  it, 
"won  off  her  own  bat." 


THE   QUEEN  IN  DUBLIN 
Her  Majesty's  visit  to  the  Lord-Lieutenant  and  Countess  Cadogan  at  Dublin  Castle,  1000. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

Memorial  of  Albert,  Prince  Consort 

SORROW  and  bereavement  knock  with  impartial  hand  at  the 
door  of  palace  and  cottage  ;  and  royal  hearts  feel  as  keenly 
and  sharply  as  those  of  lower  degrees.     The  Queen  herself 
has  called  the  year  1861  "the  year  of  sorrow,"  and  a  year  of  sorrow 
it  proved  indeed. 

Just  at  its  opening  it  gave  promise  of  happiness.  It  was  the 
twenty-first  year  of  their  marriage,  and  the  Queen  wrote  to  Uncle 
Leopold :  "  Very  few  can  say,  with  me,  that  their  husband  at  the 
end  of  twenty-one  years  is  not  only  full  of  the  friendship,  kindness, 
and  affection  which  a  truly  happy  marriage  brings  with  it,  but  of 
the  same  tender  love  as  in  the  first  days."  The  Prince,  at  the  same 
time,  wrote  to  his  old  friend,  Baron  Stockmar :  "  To-morrow  our 
marriage  will  be  twenty- one  years  old.  How  many  a  storm  has 
swept  over  it ;  and  still  it  continues  green  and  fresh,  and  throws  out 
vigorous  roots,  from  which  I  can  with  gratitude  to  God  acknowl- 
edge that  much  good  will  yet  be  engendered  for  the  world." 

THE    FIRST    DARK    SHADOW    OF    THE    YEAR 

In  a  very  tender  and  loving  letter  to  the  Queen's  mother,  the 
Prince  speaks  of  his  great  happiness,  and  concludes  with  the  hope 
"that  your  pains  and  aches  will  leave  you  soon."  The  wish  was 
fulfilled,  but  in  another  sense  than  his.  A  few  days  afterwards,  on 
visiting  the  Duchess  at  Frogmore,  the  Queen  and  Prince  Albert 
found  her  very  weak  and  ill ;  but  this  passed  off,  and  the  Queen 
returned  feeling  at  rest  about  her  mother.  "  Then,"  she  says, 
"  Albert  came  in  saying  we  ought  to  go  to  Frogmore  at  once,  as 
the  Duchess  of  Kent  had  been  seized  with  a  shivering  fit,  which 
her  physician  regarded  as  a  very  serious  symptom."  As  soon  as 

267 


268 


MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 


possible,  accompanied  by  the  Princess  Alice,  the  Queen  got  to  her 
mother,  her  first  greeting  being,  "the  end  will  be  soon."  How  sadly 
true  this  greeting  was  we  narrate  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

No   life   of  Queen   Victoria  would    be    complete   without    an 
account  of  her  beloved  husband,  Albert,  the  Prince  Consort.     One 

of     the     m  a  ny 
,:—  proofs     of     her 

affection  for  him 
and  of  her  over- 
whelming* grief 
over  his  untime- 
ly death  was  the 
publication,  un- 
der the  Queen's 
own  direction,  of 
a  volume  on 
"The  Early 
Years  of  the 
Prince  Consort." 
Orig-inally  in- 
tended for  pri- 
vate circulation 
.  among  the  mem- 
bers of  the  royal 
family  and  the 
intimate  friends 
of  the  Prince, 
the  book  was 
later  given  to 
the  public,  as  be- 
ing the  best  expression  of  the  life  and  character  of  the  man  whom 
the  Queen  loved.  It  is  the  authoritative  source  of  material  con- 
cerning the  Prince  and,  as  such,  must  be  the  basis  of  all  subsequent 
works  on  his  career. 


•;>• 


^V^SH****- 

mC^tthfc."- 


-  4 


vT*v 


."*** 

*  V". 


:»«.:; 


HUNDRED  STEPS   AT  WINDSOR 


MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,   THE  PRINCE  ^CONSORT         269 

Prince  Albert  was  born  on  tEe  twenty-sixth  of  August,  1819, 
at  the  Rosenau,  a  charming  summer  residence  belonging  to  his 
father,  the  Duke  of  Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.  His  mother  was  Princess 
Louise,  described  as  having  been  very  handsome,  though  very 
small,  and  fair,  with  blue  eyes,  and  Prince  Albert  is  said  to  have 
been  extremely  like  her.  An  old  servant  who  had  known  her  for 
many  years  told  the  Queen  that  when  she  first  saw  the  Prince  at 
Coburg,  in  1844,  she  was  quite  overcome  by  his  resemblance  to  his 
mother.  The  marriage  was  not  a  happy  one,  however,  and  a  sepa- 
ration took  place  in  1824,  when  the  young  Duchess  finally  left 
Coburg.  She  never  saw  her  children,  Prince  Albert  and  his  older 
brother,  again,  and  died,  after  a  long  and  painful  illness,  in  1831,  in 
her  thirty-second  year.  The  Prince  never  forgot  her,  and  spoke 
with  much  tenderness  and  sorrow  of  his  poor  mother.  He  was 
deeply  affected  in  reading,  after  his  marriage,  the  accounts  of  her 
sad  and  painful  illness,  and  one  of  the  first  gifts  he  made  to  the 
Queen  was  a  little  pin  he  had  received  from  her  when  a  little  child. 
Princess  Louise,  the  Prince's  fourth  daughter,  and  named  after  her 
grandmother,  is  said  to  be  like  her  in  face. 

BAPTISM    OF    PRINCE    ALBERT 

On  the  i Qth  of  September  the  young  Prince  was  christened 
in  the  Marble  Hall  at  the  Rosenau,  where  he  received  the  following 
names  in  this  order:  Francis  Charles  Augustus  Albert  Emmanuel, 
the  name  by  which  he  was  known,  Albert,  being  the  last  but  one. 
When  the  Queen  was  at  the  Rosenau  in  1863,  the  Prince's  former 
tutor  gave  her  a  copy  of  the  address  pronounced  on  the  occasion 
of  the  baptism  by  the  superintendent,  Genzler.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  that  Professor  Genzler  had  officiated  at  the  marriage  of  the 
Duke  and  Duchess  of  Kent,  the  parents  of  Queen  Victoria,  in  the 
palace  at  Coburg  in  1818,  and  that  he  received  the  Queen  and 
Prince  at  Coburg  when  they  paid  their  first  visit  to  it  after  their 
marriage,  in  1844.  ^n  this  address  are  two  passages  strikingly  pro- 
phetic of  his  after-life : 


270  MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,   THE  PRL\CE  CONSORT 

"  The  good  wishes,"  said  trie  preacher,  "  with  which  we  wel- 
come this  infant  as  a  Christian,  as  one  destined  to  be  great  on 
earth,  and  as  a  future  heir  to  everlasting  life,  are  the  more  earnest, 
when  we  consider  the  high  position  in  life  in  wJiicJi  he  may  one  day 
be  placed,  and  the  sphere,  of  action  to  which  the  will  of  God  may  call 
him,  in  order  to  contribute  more  or  less  to  the  promotion  of  truth  and 
virtue,  and  to  the  extension  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  .  .  .  The 
thoughts  and  supplications  of  the  loving  mother  are  that  her 
beloved  son  may  one  day  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  as  pure 
and  as  innocent  after  the  trials  of  this  life  as  he  is  at  this  moment 
(the  joy  and  hope  of  his  parents)  received  into  the  communion  of 
this  Christian  Church,  whose  vocation  it  is  to  bring  up  and  form 
upon  earth  a  God-fearing  race." 

Had  these  words,  pronounced  by  the  officiating  clergyman  at 
the  Prince's  baptism,  been  used  after  his  premature  death,  could 
they  possibly  have  been  more  descriptive  of  him  ? 

His  grandmother,  the  Dowager  Duchess  of  Coburg-Saalfeld, 
was  also  the  mother  of  the  Duchess  of  Kent  and  the  grandmother, 
therefore,  of  Victoria.  Many  years  later  the  Queen,  speaking'  of 
her,  said  :  "  The  Prince  told  the  Queen  that  she  had  wished  ear- 
nestly that  he  should  marry  the  Queen,  and,  as  she  died  when  her 
grandchildren  (the  Prince  and  Queen)  were  only  twelve  years  old, 
she  could  have  little"  guessed  what  a  blessing  she  was  preparing,  not 
only  for  this  country,  but  for  the  world  at  large." 

Prince  Albert  was  not  yet  four  years  old  when  he  and  his 
brother,  Prince  Ernest,  were  removed  from  the  care  of  the  nurse 
to  whom  they  had  hitherto  been  entrusted  to  that  of  Herr  Flor- 
schiitz,  of  Coburg,  who  directed  the  young  Princes'  education  until 
they  left  Bonn,  fifteen  years  later,  at  the  close  of  their  academical 
career. 

Nothing  was  more  remarkable,  even  in  infancy,  than  the 
unselfish  affection  which  united  the  two  brothers.  "  Brought  up 
together,"  says  Mr.  Florschutz,  "  they  went  hand-in-hand  in  all 
things,  whether  at  work  or  at  play.  Engaged  in  the  same  pursuits, 


MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT         271 

sharing  the  same  joys  and  the  same  sorrows,  they  were  bound  to 
each  other  by  no  common  feelings  of  mutual  love."  And  this 
mutual  love  endured  without  interruption  and  without  diminution 
through  life. 

"  Even  in  infancy,  however,"  their  tutor  continues,  "a  marked 
difference  was  observable  in  their  characters  and  dispositions.  This 
difference  naturally  became  more  apparent  as  years  went  on,  and 
their  separate  paths  in  life  were  definitely  marked  out  for  them ; 
yet  far  from  leading  at  any  time  to  any,  even  momentary,  estrange- 
ment, it  seems  rather  to  have  afforded  a  closer  bond  of  union 
between  them." 

A  striking  proof  of  the  warm  affection  which  united  them  will 
be  found  in  a  touching  letter  from  Prince  Ernest  to  the  Queen, 
written  when  his  brother's  marriage  was  settled,  and  inserted  in  its 
proper  place,  in  which  he  speaks  of  the  rare  qualities  and  virtues 
that  already  distinguished  Prince  Albert  above  all  his  young 
associates. 

Mr.  Florschiitz  describes  the  young  Prince  as  being  singularly 
easy  to  instruct ;  and  this,  notwithstanding  the  difficulties  thrown 
constantly  in  the  way  by  the  injudicious,  as  he  considers  it,  par- 
tiality of  their  mother ;  by  the  irregularity  of  hours,  and  the  inter- 
ruptions occasioned  by  their  frequent  changes  of  residence  and 
general  mode  of  life. 

The  intellectual  and  thoughtful  turn  of  the  Prince's  character, 
and  his  love  01  order,  were  even  at  this  early  age  conspicuous.  His 
studies  were  a  pleasure  to  him,  not  a  task.  His  constant  love  of 
occupation — for,  in  the  words  of  his  tutor,  "  to  do  something  was 
with  him  a  necessity  "  —his  perseverance  and  application,  were  only 
equalled  by  his  facility  of  comprehension. 

This  eager  desire  for  knowledge  did  not,  however,  lessen  his 
enjoyment  of  the  active  sports  and  amusements  which  generally 
have,  and  ought  to  have,  so  much  attraction  for  boys.  Indeed,  he 
seems  to  have  thrown  himself  into  his  bodily  exercises  with  the 
same  zeal  with  which  he  devoted  himself  to  his  studies,  and  to  have 


272  MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

entered  into  the  games  of  boyhood  with  all  the  glee  and  zest  of  an 
ardent  and  energetic  spirit.  In  these  games  with  his  brother  and 
his  young  companions  his  was  the  directing  mind.  Nor  was  he  at 
times  indisposed  to  resort  to  force  if  his  wishes  were  not  at  once 
complied  with. 

At  this  time,  however,  his  tutor  says  of  him  that  "  he  was 
rather  delicate  than  robust,  though  already  remarkable  for  his 
powers  of  perseverance  and  endurance." 

The  King  of  the  Belgians,  writing  to  the  Queen  in  1864, 
confirms,  for  the  most  part,  the  account  of  the  young  Prince  thus 
given  by  Mr.  Florschiitz  : 

"I  have  seen  him,"  he  says,  "chiefly  at  Coburg,  but  since  1827 
also  at  Gotha.  He  looked  delicate  in  his  youngest  days.  He  was 
always  an  intelligent  child,  and  held  a  certain  sway  over  his  elder 
brother,  who  rather  kindly  submitted  to  it." 


HAPPY    CHILDHOOD 


There  does  not  appear  to  have  been  much  to  record  during 
the  boyhood  of  the  Princes ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  the  unfor- 
tunate circumstances  of  the  year  1824,  which  resulted  in  the  sepa- 
ration of  their  parents,  to  which  reference  need  not  here  be  made, 
their  lives  flowed  on  in  a  singularly  even  and  unvarying,  but  at  the 
same  time  very  happy  course.  Indeed,  the  Prince,  in  after  years, 
frequently  alluded  to  his  happy  childhood,  and  often  told  the 
Queen  that  he  considered  it  the  happiest  period  of  his  whole  life. 

In  1826,  after  considerable  difficulty,  an  arrangement  was 
completed  by  which  the  Duchy  of  Gotha  was  given  to  the  Duke  of 
Coburg,  who  ceded  Saalfeld  to  another  Duke,  and  thus  the  Prince's 
father  became  the  lord  of  a  somewhat  altered  Dukedom,  being  now 
Duke  of  Saxe-Coburg  and  Gotha.  The  wish  of  the  Duchess,  the 
Prince's  grandmother,  "that  they  may  continue  well,  and  may 
escape  the  scarlet  fever  and  measles,"  seems  to  have  been  realized. 
It  does  not  appear  that,  as  a  child,  Prince  Albert  ever  had  either 
of  these  disorders.  He  had  the  measles  very  many  years  later  in 


MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT          273 

England,  but,  from  the  memorandum  of  his  tutor,  it  is  seen  that, 
though  he  was  kept  in  bed  for  eight  days  when  his  brother  had 
the  scarlet  fever  in  1829,  he  showed  no  symptoms  of  the  disorder, 
and  the  only  reason  for  this  confinement  appears  to  have  been  the 
excessive  caution  of  the  doctor,  who  seems  to  have  assumed  that 
if  one  brother  had  the  fever  the  other  must  of  necessity  have  it  also. 

Nevertheless,  the  Queen  says  that  Prince  Albert  certainly  had 
the  scarlet  fever  at  this  time.  "  At  least,"  her  Majesty  adds,  "  he 
himself  always  maintained  this,  therefore  visited  his  children  regu- 
larly when  they  had  it  in  1855." 

In  1828,  the  Young  Princes  paid  a  visit  to  their  cousins,  the 
sons  of  the  Governor  of  Mayence,  and  Prince  Albert  wrote  his 

father  an  account  of  it: 

MAYENCE,  1828. 

DEAR  PAPA  : — I  cannot  thank  you  half  enough  for  letting  us  have  the 
pleasure  of  coming  to  Mayence  to  see  our  cousins. 

Mayence  was  hardly  in  sight  when  our  uncle  and  cousins  met  us  on  horse- 
back. We  were  very  much  astonished  when  we  saw  the  Rhine  in  the  valley, 
with  its  bridge  of  boats  ;  but  the  water  of  the  Maine  and  the  Rhine  is  so  differ- 
ent that  you  cannot  mistake  them.  The  Maine  has  red  and  the  Rhine  green 

water Yesterday  we  drove  to  Wiesbaden,  and  from  Wiesbaden  rode  on 

donkeys  to  the  Platte,  which  is  two  hours  from  Wiesbaden.  The  day  before 
we  were  at  Biberich.  .  .  .  Keep  your  love  for 

Your  ALBERT. 

The  intimacy  thus  early  begun  between  the  cousins  seems 
to  have  been  kept  up  with  undiminished  affection  throughout  life  ; 
and  Count  Arthur  Mensdorff,  in  1863,  wrote  to  the  Queen,  in 
response  to  a  wish  expressed  by  her,  an  account  of  his  recollections 
of  those  early  days.  In  it  he  says  : 

"  Albert,  as  a  child,  was  of  a  mild,  benevolent  disposition.  It 
was  only  what  he  thought  unjust  or  dishonest  that  could  make  him 
angry.  Thus  I  recollect  one  day  when  we  children,  Albert,  Ernest, 
Ferdinand,  Augustus,  Alexander,  myself,  and  a  few  other  boys  (if 
I  am  not  mistaken,  Paul  Wangenheim  was  one)  were  playing  at 
the  Roseneau,  and  some  of  us  were  to  storm  the  old  ruined  tower 


274  MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

on  the  side  of  the  castle,  which  the  others  were  to  defend.  One  of 
us  suggested  that  there  was  a  place  at  the  back  by  which  we  could 
get  in  without  being  seen,  and  thus  capture  it  without  difficulty. 
Albert  declared  that '  this  would  be  most  unbecoming  in  a  Saxon 
knight,  who  should  always  attack  the  enemy  in  front,'  and  so  we 
fought  for  the  tower  so  honestly  and  vigorously  that  Albert,  by  mis- 
take, for  I  was  on  his  side,  gave  me  a  blow  upon  the  nose,  of  which 
I  still  bear  the  mark.  I  need  not  say  how  sorry  he  was  for  the 
wound  he  had  given  me. 

"  Albert  never  was  noisy  or  wild.  He  was  always  very  fond  of 
natural  history  and  more  serious  studies,  and  many  a  happy  hour  he 
spent  in  Ehrenburg,  in  a  small  room  under  the  roof,  arranging  and 
dusting  the  collections  our  cousins  had  themselves  made  and  kept 
there.  He  urged  me  to  begin  making  a  similar  collection  myself, 
so  that  we  might  join,  and  form  together  a  good  cabinet. 

"  This  was  the  commencement  of  the  collections  at  Coburg  in 
which  Albert  always  took  so  much  interest. 

"  Albert  thoroughly  understood  the  naivete  of  the  Coburg 
national  character,  and  he  had  the  art  of  turning  people's  peculiari- 
ties into  a  source  of  fun.  He  had  a  natural  talent  for  imitation, 
and  a  great  sense  of  the  ludicrous,  either  in  persons  or  things  ;  but  he 
was  never  severe  or  ill-natured  ;  the  general  kindness  of  his  disposi- 
tion preventing  him  from  pushing  a  joke,  however  he  might  enjoy 
it,  so  as  to  hurt  any  one's  feelings.  Every  man  has,  more  or  less,  a 
ridiculous  side,  and  to  quiz  this,  in  a  friendly  and  good-humored 
manner,  is,  after  all,  the  pleasantest  description  of  humor.  Albert 
possessed  this  rare  gift  in  an  eminent  degree. 

"  From  his  earliest  infancy  he  was  distinguished  for  perfect 
moral  purity,  both  in  word  and  in  deed ;  and  to  this  he  owed  the 
sweetness  of  disposition  so  much  admired  by  every  one. 

"  Even  as  a  child  he  was  very  fond  of  chess,  and  he,  Ernest, 
Alexander,  and  myself  often  played  the  great  four  game.  This  led 
often  to  jokes,  but  sometimes  to  ridiculous  quarrels,  which,  however, 
owing  to  his  goodness  of  heart,  always  ended  good-humoredly. 


DISTINGUISHED  WRITERS  OF  POPULAR  PROSE 


MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT         277 

"  Some  time  ago  I  collected  all  the  letters  I  have  of  dearest 
Albert's,  and  in  one  of  them  I  found  a  passage  most  characteristic 
of  his  noble  way  of  thinking,  as  shown  and  maintained  by  him  from 
his  earliest  childhood  : 

"  '  The  poor  soldiers/  he  says,  '  always  do  their  duty  in  the 
most  brilliant  manner ;  but  as  soon  as  matters  come  again  into  the 
hands  of  politicians  and  diplomats,  everything  is  again  spoiled  and 
confused.  Oxenstiern's  saying  to  his  son  may  still  be  quoted  :  "  My 
son,  when  you  look  at  things  more  closely,  you  will  be  surprised 
to  find  with  how  little  wisdom  the  world  is  governed."  I  should  like 
to  add,  '  and  with  how  little  morality.' 

"  How  much  these  words  contain  !  We  again  see  the  Saxon 
knight,  who  as  a  child  declared  that  you  must  attack  your  enemy 
in  front,  who  hates  every  crooked  path  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  noble  heart  which  feels  deeply  the  misfortune  of  a  government 
not  guided  by  reason  and  morality." 

The  years  1829  and  1830  seem  to  have  been  passed  by  the 
Princes  in  the  quiet  routine  of  their  studies  and  other  occupations, 
their  residence  at  Coburg  and  the  Rosenau  being  only  interrupted 
by  the  visits,  now  grown  periodical,  to  Gotha. 

The  Duke,  their  father,  had  been  absent  for  some  time  in  the 
winter  of  1 828^29,  and  on  the  i6th  January  of  the  latter  year  we 
find  Prince  Albert,  now  in  the  tenth  year  of  his  age,  writing  by 
direction  of  his  grandmother  (probably  from  Ketschendorf,  where 
she  resided),  to  say  how  sorry  they  were  at  his  staying  away  so 
long,  and  to  express  their  joy  to  hear  he  was  soon  coming  back. 
Again,  on  the  28th  of  the  same  month,  he  gives  his  father  an 
account  of  the  manner  in  which  he  and  his  brother,  with  their 
young  companions,  the  sons  of  the  principal  people  of  Coburg, 
who  came  constantly  on  Sundays  and  other  holidays  to  play  with 
them,  according  to  a  practice  established,  had  been  amusing  them- 
selves. 

They  dragged  some  small  hand-sledges  up  to  the  Festung  (the 
old  fortress  above  Coburg),  and  "there,"  he  writes,  "we  and  some 


278  MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,   THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

other  boys  got  into  our  sledges  and  went  the  whole  way  down  to 
the  gate  of  the  Schloss." 

In  a  journal  kept  by  the  Prince  in  1830,  when  he  was  not  yet 
eleven  years  old,  he  gives  an  account,  which  is  not  without  interest, 
of  the  manner  in  which  he  and  his  brother  were  in  the  habit  of 
amusing  themselves  with  their  young  companions;  he  also  describes 
the  great  Protestant  festival,  in  celebration  of  the  Confession  of 
Augsburg,  which  was  held  at  Coburg  in  June  of  that  year. 

YOUTHFUL    AMUSEMENTS 

The  Princes  were  very  fond  of  assuming  the  characters  of  the 
most  distinguished  worthies  of  old  times,  and  of  making  the  most 
remarkable  incidents  in  bygone  German  history  the  subject  of  their 
games.  On  the  occasion  mentioned  in  the  following  extracts  from 
Prince  Albert's  journal,  it  is  not  without  interest  to  observe  that 
when  the  boy,  selected  to  play  the  Emperor,  was  missing  he  was  to 
be  replaced  by  another  boy  chosen  by  lot  from  amongst  those  who 
were  to  represent  the  different  Dukes.  The  lot  fell  worthily  on  the 
Prince  himself. 

But  the  journal  is  chiefly  interesting  from  one  short  entry  in 
it  strongly  indicative  of  that  trait  in  the  Prince's  character  which 
was,  perhaps,  the  most  remarkable,  as  being,  certainly,  the  most 
rare  in  those  born  to  such  high  rank — his  thoughtful  considera- 
tion, namely,  for  others.  When  lamenting  the  disappointment  to  him- 
self and  his  companions  of  the  pleasure  which  they  had  promised 
themselves,  and  which  a  wet  day  put  a  stop  to,  his  thoughts  seemed 
to  turn  quite  naturally  to  the  still  wider  disappointment  occasioned 
to  the  children  of  the  whole  town,  whose  festival  was  spoiled  by  the 
bad  weather. 

"  i7TH  JANUARY. 

"  SUNDAY. — When  I  woke  this  morning,  the  first  thing  I 
thought  of  was  the  afternoon  when  we  expected  our  playfellows. 
The  tallest  and  one  of  the  cleverest,  Emil  von  Gilsa,  was  to  be  our 
Emperor.  Ernest  was  to  be  Duke  of  Saxony,  and  was  to  have  two 


279 

Counts  Rottenhahn,  the  elder  M.  von  Schauroth,  a   Preger  and  a 
Borner,  and  one  of  our  rooms  was  to  be  his  Duchy. 

"  Paul  von  Wangenheim  was  to  be  Duke  of  Bavaria  and  his 
followers  were  to  be  the  younger  M.  von  Schauroth,  a  Piani  and  a 
Miiller,  and  he  also  had  a  room  ;  and  I  was  to  be  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy, and  Herman,  Achill,  Victor  and  Edward  von  Gilsa  were  to 
belong  to  me,  and  another  of  our  rooms  was  to  be  my  Duchy.  We 
dined  with  our  dear  Grandmamma.  After  dinner  we  returned 
home,  and  our  playfellows  had  already  arrived ;  but  we  heard  with 
great  horror  that  Achill  and  Emil  von  Gilsa  (our  chosen  Emperor) 
were  ill,  and  that  the  two  Mess,  von  Schauroth  were  gone  out  sledg- 
ing and  would  come  later.  We  therefore  decided  on  choosing  an 
Emperor  from  among  the  Dukes,  and  lots  were  to  decide  who  it 
was  to  be.  Fortune  favored  me,  and  I  was  Emperor.  We  played 
very  happily  till  half-past  eight  o'clock." 

"  2ist  JUNE. 

"  To-day  was  my  brother  Ernest's  birthday.  We  spent  this 
day,  in  spite  of  the  rain,  very  happily  together. 

"  We  drove  into  the  town  after  dear  Papa  had  given  Ernest 
many  presents,  and  visited  dear  Grandmamma.  The  bad  weather  not 
only  spoiled  our  happiness,  but  that  of  the  children  of  the  whole 
town  too,  as  just  on  this  day  a  school-festival  happened  to  fall. 

"  We  spent  the  afternoon  at  Ketschendorf  with  some  of  our 
companions. 

"  In  the  evening  we  went  to  see  a  menagerie  which  consisted 
chiefly  of  serpents." 

In  August,  1831,  the  mother  of  the  Princes  died,  as  has  been 
already  mentioned,  at  St.  Wendel.  And  in  the  November  follow- 
lowing  they  had  to  mourn  the  loss  of  their  kind  and  beloved  grand- 
mother, the  Duchess  Dowager  of  Coburg.  In  the  summer  of  1832 
the  young  Princes  accompanied  their  father  to  Brussels  on  a  visit 
to  their  uncle  Leopold,  who,  in  the  course  of  the  preceding  year, 
had  been  chosen  to  be  the  Sovereign  of  the  newly-created  king- 
dom of  Belgium. 


28o  MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

The  stay  of  the  Princes  at  Brussels  at  this  time  was  short. 
But  short  though  it  was,  their  tutor  ascribes  to  the  effect  produced 
by  what  they  saw  there — by  the  spectacle  which  the  Belgian  capi- 
tal then  afforded,  of  liberty  and  independence  bravely  acquired, 
and  used  with  good  sense  and  moderation — that  apppreciation  of 
the  blessings  of  liberty,  that  attachment  to  liberal  principles  which 
ever  afterwards  distinguished  both  the  Princes.  In  Prince  Albert 

o 

these  liberal  principles  were  tempered  by  a  moderation  and  love  of 
order,  and  by  a  detestation  of  everything  approaching  to  license, 
which  were  very  remarkable  at  his  early  age  ;  and  this  without 
weakening  the  devotion  to  the  purest  and  best  principles  of  consti- 
tutional freedom,  of  which  his  whole  after-life  in  England  gave 
such  repeated  proof. 

The  love  of  art,  too,  which  was  natural  to  the  Prince,  received, 
his  tutor  adds,  a  great  stimulus  from  the  beauty  of  Brussels,  and 
the  study  of  the  art  treasures  which-  that  city  contains. 

On  their  way  home  the  Princes  passed  a  few  weeks  with  their 
aunt  and  cousins  at  Mayence,  and  during  that  time  attended  the 
swimming-school  which  forms  part  of  the  military  establishment 
there.  They  made  so  much  progress,  that  before  they  left  they 
swam  down  the  stream  from  the  bridge  of  Mayence  to  Biberich, 
a  distance  of  three  miles. 

In  the  autumn  of  this  year  the  Duke  re-married.  The  new 
Duchess  was  his  own  niece — being  the  daughter  of  his  sister 
Princess  Antoinette,  married  to  Duke  Alexander  of  Wurtemberg. 
In  November  the  brothers  accompanied  their  father  to  the  Castle 
of  Thalwitz,  in  Saxony,  there  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  Princess 
from  Petersburg.  Thence  they  escorted  her  to  her  new  home. 

The  Prince  was  now  in  his  fourteenth  year,  and  was  fast 
developing  that  power  of  thinking  and  judging  for  himself  which 
distinguished  him  so  greatly  in  after-life. 

The  ardent  desire  for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  always  so 
characteristic  of  the  Prince,  as  well  as  his  love  of  order  and  method, 
show  themselves,  even  at  this  early  age,  very  remarkably,  in  a 


MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT         281 

programme  drawn  up  by  himself  at  this  time  for  his  guidance  in  the 
prosecution  of  his  studies. 

This  programme  is  given,  as  written  out  in  the  Prince's  own 
handwriting,  at  the  end  of  an  interesting  memorandum  by  his  old 
tutor,  Councillor  Floi'schiitz,  in  which  he  (the  Councillor)  records 
his  recollections  of  the  Prince  as  a  boy,  and  gives  an  account  of  the 
nature  of  his  studies  and  the  manner  in  which  they  were  regulated. 
It  is  seen  that,  though  not  neglected,  classics  and  mathematics  did 
not  hold  the  prominent,  not  to  say  the  exclusive,  place  in  their  sys- 
tem of  education  which  these  branches  of  study  occupy  in  Eng- 
land. The  study  of  modern  languages,  of  history,  of  the  natural 
sciences,  of  music,  and  generally  of  those  accomplishments  which 
serve  to  embellish  and  adorn  life,  had  many  hours  in  each  week 
devoted  to  them. 

The  amount  of  work  which  the  Prince  thus  traces  for  himself 
u-ould  probably  not  only  seem  excessive  to  the  most  studious  Eng- 
lish school-boy  (and  we  must  remember  that  the  Prince  at  this  time 
was  only  of  the  age  of  a  school-boy),  but  was  such  as  a  hard-read- 
ing man  at  one  of  our  universities  might  almost  have  shrunk 
from.  Be  it  also  remembered  that  the  principal  parts  of  these 
studies  are  what  his  tutor  describes  as  "  self-imposed."  From  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning  to  one  in  the  afternoon,  and,  on  two  days  of 
the  week,  till  two  o'clock,  there  was  continuous  work,  excepting,  of 
course,  the  time  required  for  breakfast.  From  one  to  six  was 
given  up  to  out-door  exercises  and  recreation,  dinner,  etc.;  and  the 
day  concluded  with  two  hours'  more  work  from  six  to  eight. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  this  programme  was 
strictly  carried  into  effect.  It  is  seen  from  the  memorandum,  how 
much  their  tutor  complained  of  the  interruptions  caused  by  the  fre- 
quent changes  of  residence,  and  by  the  system  of  breakfasting  in 
the  open  air  at  different  places,  and  sometimes  at  a  considerable 
distance  from  home ;  but,  as  a  scheme  of  study  laid  down  by  the 
young  Prince  himself,  and,  as  far  as  was  possible,  adhered  to,  it  may 
well  command  our  admiration.  It  may  also  be  remarked  that 

16 


282          MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

though  his  tutor,  in  this  paper,  seems  only  to  lament  the  inter- 
ruption occasioned  to  his  studies,  he  elsewhere  mentions  the  fre- 
quent changes  of  residence  as  advantageous  rather  than  otherwise, 
and  as  tending  to  encourage  the  habit  of  observation  and  to 
enlarge  his  mind. 

FIRST    MEETING    OF    THE    QUEEN    AND    THE    PRINCE 

In  1836  the  Princes  and  their  father,  the  Duke  visited  Eng- 
land, as  previously  mentioned.  They  lodged  at  Kensington,  and 
it  was  on  this  occasion  that  the  Queen  saw  the  Prince  for  the  first 
time.  They  were  both  seventeen  years  old.  In  April,  1837,  the 
Princes  went  to  Bonn,  at  which  university,  with  the  exception  of 
the  usual  vacations,  they  remained  for  the  next  year  and  a  half. 

Here  they  resided  with  their  tutor,  M.  Florschutz,  who  bears 
witness  to  the  diligence  and  steadiness  with  which  they  applied 
themselves  to  their  studies.  Of  our  Prince  he  says  that  "he  main- 
tained the  early  promise  of  his  youth  by  the  eagerness  with  which 
he  applied  himself  to  his  work,  and  by  the  rapid  progress  which  he 
made,  especially  in  the  natural  sciences,  in  political  economy,  and 
in  philosophy.  Music,  also,"  he  adds,  "  of  which  he  was  passion- 
ately fond,  was  not  neglected,  and  he  had  already  shown  consider- 
able talent  as  a  composer."  The  Prince  also  excelled  in  many 
exercises,  and  at  a  great  fencing-match,  in  which  there  were  from 
twenty-five  to  thirty  competitors,  carried  off  the  first  prize,  as 
recorded  by  an  English  student  at  the  university,  who  afterwards 
held  a  government  situation  in  Dublin,  and  who  himself  obtained 
the  second  prize. 

Since  the  visit  of  the  Princes  to  England  in  the  preceding  year 
the  idea  had  become  very  general  that  a  marriage  was  in  contem- 
plation between  Prince  Albert  and  the  Princess  Victoria  ;  and  during 
their  late  residence  in  Brussels  reports  to  that  effect  had  become 
still  more  prevalent,  though  most  prematurely,  as  nothing  was  then 
settled.  Prince  Albert's  letters  to  his  father  at  this  time  are  chiefly 
interesting  from  their  allusion  to  England  and  the  young  Queen. 


MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,   THE  PRINCE  CONSORT         283 

The  first  is  dated  from  Bonn,  only  a  few  days  before  the  death,  on 
the  2Oth  of  June,  1837,  of  William  IV.,  when  Queen  Victoria,  who 
had  only  just  completed  her  eighteenth  year,  ascended  the  throne. 
In  that  letter,  after  mentioning  a  visit  to  Cologne,  he  goes  on  : 

''  A  few  days  ago  I  received  a  letter  from  Aunt  Kent,  enclos- 
ing one  from  our  cousin.  She  told  me  I  was  to  communicate  its 
contents  to  you,  so  I  send  it  on  with  a  translation  of  the  English. 
The  day  before  yesterday  I  received  a  second  and  a  still  kinder 
letter  from  my  cousin,  in  which  she  thanks  me  for  my  good  wishes 
on  her  birth-day.  You  may  easily  imagine  that  both  these  letters 
gave  me  the  greatest  pleasure." 

On  the  4th  of  July  he  adds:  "The  death  of  the  King  of 
England  has  everywhere  caused  the  greatest  sensation.  From 
what  Uncle  Leopold,  as  well  as  aunt,  writes  to  us,  the  new  reign 
has  begun  most  successfully.  Cousin  Victoria  is  said  to  have 
shown  astonishing  self-possession.  She  undertakes  a  heavy  respon- 
sibility, especially'  at  the  present  moment,  when  parties  are  so 
excited,  and  all  rest  their  hopes  on  her." 

On  the  first  hearing  of  the  King's  death,  the  Prince  had  already 
written  the  following  beautiful  and  characteristic  letter  to  the  young 
Queen.  \\  is  the  first  of  his  which  we  have,  written  in  English, 
and  allowing  for  a  somewhat  foreign  turn  and  formality  of  expres- 
sion, it  shows  what  proficiency  he  had  already  made  in  a  language 
which,  from  the  correctness  with  which  he  both  spoke  and  wrote  it, 
he  soon  made  his  own.  "  How  much,"  says  one  who  had  deeply 
studied  his  character,  "  of  the  Prince's  great  nature  is  visible  in  it. 
Though  addressed  to  a  young  and  powerful  Queen,  there  is  not  a 
word  of  flattery  in  it.  His  first  thought  is  of  the  great  responsi- 
bility of  the  position,  the  happiness  of  the  millions  that  was  at 
stake.  Then  comes  the  anxious  hope  that  the  reign  may  be  glori- 
ous." (Did  he  feel  a  presentiment  at  the  time  how  much  he  would 
help  to  make  it  so?)  "And  then  how  gracefully  and  naturally  the 
tender  regard  of  an  affectionate  relation  comes  in  at  the  last."  But 
let  us  quote  it : 


284  MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

"BONN,  26th  June  1837. 

"  MY  DEAREST  COUSIN: — I  must  write  you  a  few  lines  to  present  you 
my  sincerest  felicitations  on  that  great  change  which  has  taken  place  in  your 
life. 

"  Now  you  are  Queen  of  the  mightiest  land  of  Europe,  in  your  hand  lies 
the  happiness  of  millions.  May  Heaven  assist  you  and  strengthen  you  with  its 
strength  in  that  high  but  difficult  task. 

"  I  hope  that  your  reign  may  be  long,  happy,  and  glorious,  and  that  your 
efforts  may  be  rewarded  by  the  thankfulness  and  love  oi%  your  subjects. 

"  May  I  pray  you  to  think  likewise  sometimes  of  your  cousins  in  Bonn, 
and  to  continue  to  them  that  kindness  you  favored  them  with  till  now.  Be 
assured  that  our  minds  are  always  with  you. 

"  I  will  not  be  indiscreet  and  abuse  your  time.  Believe  me  always,  your 
Maiesty's  most  obedient  and  faithful  servant, 

"ALBERT." 

This  same  year  the  Princes  employed  their  vacation  in  making 
a  tour  through  Switzerland  and  the  north  of  Italy. 

The  Queen,  alluding  to  this  tour  in  1864,  relates  that  the 
Prince  sent  her  a  small  book  containing  views  of  many  of  the 
places  they  visited  in  this  interesting  tour. 

"  The  whole  of  these,"  the  Queen  adds,  "  were  placed  in  a 
small  album,  with  the  dates  at  which  each  place  was  visited,  in  the 
Prince's  handwriting  ;  and  this  album  the  Queen  now  considers  one 
of  her  greatest  treasures,  and  never  goes  anywhere  without  it. 
Nothing  had  at  this  time  passed  between  the  Queen  and  the 
Prince ;  but  this  gift  shows  that  the  latter,  in  the  midst  of  his 
travels,  often  thought  of  his  young  cousin." 

It  was  not  long  before  the  current  belief  in  their  intended 
marriage  was  placed  on  more  solid  ground  and  the  happy  event, 
described  elsewhere  in  this  work,  was  consummated,  giving  to 
Queen  Victoria  and  England  a  worthy  and  noble  Prince  Consort. 

The  political  position  of  the  Prince  Consort  was  a  question  of 
some  difficulty. 

Notwithstanding  the  cordiality  with  which  the  Prince,  and  the 
satisfaction  with  which  the  announcement  of  the  marriage,  had  been 


MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT         285 

received,  it  soon  became  apparent  that  the  husband  of  the  Queen 
was  the  object  of  much  national  suspicion  and  unpopularity.  It 
was  regretted  after  the  event  that  the  Queen  had  not  married  an 
English  prince.  It  was  protested  that  the  influence  of  a  foreign 
prince  on  the  counsels  of  the  Crown  must  be  dangerous  to  the 
empire.  The  Prince  found  his  position  one  of  extreme  difficulty. 
He  had  at  once  to  maintain  his  rank  and  to  disarm  distrust.  "In 
my  home  life,"  he  wrote,  May,  1840,  "I  am  very  happy  and  con- 
tented, but  the  obstacle  to  rilling  my  place  is  that  I  am  only  the 
husband  and  not  the  master  in  the  house." 

TACT    AND    WISDOM    OF    THE    PRINCE 

In  this  critical  juncture  the  Queen  exhibited  rare  tact  and 
great  determination.  She  persistently  declined  to  yield  to  those 
who.  were  bent  on  detaching  the  Prince  as  much  as  possible  from 
herself.  By  her  marriage  vow  she  had  sworn  to  honor  and  obey 
him,  and  that  vow  she  showed  herself  resolute  upon  faithfully 
executing.  Meanwhile  the  Prince,  who  profited  much  from  the 
friendship  and  advice  of  his  attendant,  Baron  Stockmar,  having 
"  laid  down  for  himself  the  rule  that  no  act  of  his  should  by  any 
possibility  expose  him  to  the  imputation  of  interference  with  the 
machinery  of  the  State  or  of  encroachment  on  the  functions  and 
privileges  of  the  sovereign,"  gradually  found  his  path  made  clear. 

In  all  matters,  both  of  the  family  and  of  the  State,  the  Prince 
Consort  was  her  Majesty's  adviser,  counselor  and  helpmeet.  Sir 
Theodore  Martin  says,  in  his  "  Life  of  the  Prince  "  :  "  Every  enter- 
prise of  national  importance  claimed  his  attention,  and  in  all  things 
that  concerned  the  welfare  of  the  State,  at  .home  or  abroad,  his 
accurate  and  varied  knowledge  and  great  political  sagacity  made 
him  looked  to  as  an  authority  by  all  our  leading  statesmen."  In 
another  place,  Sir  Thomas  says  :  "  Like  most  men  who  have  done 
great  things  in  this  world,  the  Prince  got  to  his  work  early,  and  had 
made  good  progress  with  it  before  other  people  were  stirring. 
Summer  or  winter,  he  rose,  as  a  rule,  at  7,  dressed  and  went  to  his 


286  MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,   THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

sitting-room,  where  in  winter  a  fire  was  burning  and  a  green  Ger- 
man lamp  already  lit.  He  read  and  answered  letters,  never  allow- 
ing his  vast  correspondence  to  fall  into  arrears,  or  prepared  for  her 
Majesty's  consideration  drafts  of  answers  to  her  Ministers  on  any 
matters  of  importance.  .  .  .  He  kept  up  this  habit  to  the  close 
of  his  life  and  his  last  memorandum  of  this  description  he  brought 
to  the  Queen  on  December  i,  1 86 1,  at  8  A.M.,  saying  as  he  gave  it : 
'  Ich  bin  so  schwach  ich  habe  kaum  die  Feder  h alien  konnen  '  (I  am 
.so  weak  I  have  scarcely  been  able  to  hold  the  pen)." 

In  1844  a  residence  was  purchased  at  Osborne  on  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  and  the  Prince  took  great  interest  in  planning  the  house 
and  laying  out  the  grounds,  as  well  as  in  carrying  on  the  farming 
operations  which  were  conducted  on  the  estate. 

HE    IS    ELECTED    CHANCELLOR    OF    CAMBRIDGE    UNIVERSITY 

In  1847,  the  University  of  Cambridge  paid  Prince  Albert  the 
well-merited  compliment  of  electing  his  Royal  Highness  to  their 
Chancellorship.  Every  year  had  developed  in  the  young  Prince 
the  highest  qualities  as  statesman,  art  patron,  and  man  of  intellect, 
and  he  could  scarcely  refuse  an  office  for  which  he  was  so  well  fitted. 
The  University  was  proud  of  and  pleased  by  his  acceptance  of 
their  highest  office,  and  the  installation  was  performed  with  great 
splendor.  Her  Majesty  accompanied  her  royal  husband  to  the 
installation,  and,  seated  in  a  chair  of  state  on  a  dais  in  the  Hall  of 
Trinity,  received  an  address  from  the  University.  It  was  repre- 
sented by  the  new  Royal  Chancellor,  supported  by  the  Chancellor 
of  Oxford,  the  Vice-Chancellor  of  Cambridge,  the  Bishop  of 
Oxford  (Wilberforce),  and  the  Heads  of  the  Houses.  Her  Majesty 
made  a  gracious  reply  to  the  address,  and  then  the  deputation  with- 
drew, Prince  Albert  making  a  profound  obeisance  to  the  Queen. 
Bishop  Wilberforce  gives  a  very  pleasant  account  of  the  ceremony  : 

"  The  Cambridge  scene  was  very  interesting.  There  was 
such  an  outburst  of  loyalty,  and  it  told  so  on  the  Queen  and 
Prince.  It  was  quite  clear  that  they  both  felt  it  as  something  new 


MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT          287 

that  he  had  earned,  and  not  she  given,  a  true  English  honor  ;  but  he 
looked  so  pleased,  and  she  so  triumphant.  There  were  also  some 
such  pretty  preludes  ;  when  he  presented  the  address,  and  she 
beamed  on  him,  and  once  half  smiled,  and  then  covered  the  smile 
with  a  gentle  dignity  ;  and  then  she  said  in  her  clear,  musical  voice, 
'The  choice  which  the  University  has  made  of  its  Chancellor  has 
my  most  entire  approbation.' ' 

The  Queen  wrote  in  her  Journal:  "I  cannot  say  how  it 
agitated  and  embarrassed  me  to  have  to  receive  this  address,  and 
hear  it  read  by  my  beloved  Albert,  who  walked  in  at  the  head  of 
the  University,  and  looked  dear  and  beautiful  in  his  robes,  which 
were  carried  by  Colonel  Phipps  and  Colonel  Seymour.  Albert 
went  through  it  all  admirably,  almost  absurd,  however,  as  it  was  to 
us.  He  gave  me  the  address,  and  I  read  the  answer,  and  a  few 
kissed  hands  and  retired  with  the  University." 

At  the  Convocation  in  the  afternoon  the  Prince,  as  Chancellor, 
received  the  Queen  as  a  visitor,  and  led  her  to  the  seat  prepared 
for  her. 

The  installation  ode  was  written  by  Wordsworth  at  the 
Prince's  wish,  and,  for  an  ode  written  to  order,  is  thought  singu- 
larly fine. 

In  1848  the  Queen  and  her  consort  paid  their  first  visit  to 
Balmoral,  the  estate  of  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen,  in  the  Highlands, 
which  was  subsequently  purchased  and  became  a  favorite  home  of 
the  Queen.  The  Prince  drew  a  graphic  pen-picture  of  the  place  : 

"  We  have  withdrawn  for  a  short  time  into  a  complete  mountain 
solitude,  where  one  rarely  sees  a  human  face,  where  the  snow 
already  covers  the  mountain  tops  (in  September)  and  the  wild  deer 
come  stealthily  creeping  round  the  house  ;  scenes  which,  in  her 
Majesty's  own  words,  seem  to  breathe  freedom  and  peace,  and  to 
make  one  forget  the  world  and  its  sad  turmoil." 

In  1849  the  Prince  projected  the  great  Crystal  Palace  Exhibi- 
tion, enlisted  the  help  of  the  most  active  members  of  the  Society 


288  MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,   THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

of  Arts,  and  was  instrumental  in  having  the  great  enterprise  put 
under  way  and  pushed  to  completion,  as  detailed  elsewhere  in  this 
work. 

Americans  will  never  forget  that  the  last  act  of  this  truly  wise 
and  noble  Prince  was  to  review  the  draft  of  the  letter  which  the 
Ministry  proposed  to  senate  the  American  Government,  demanding 
the  return  of  the  Confederate  commissioners  taken  from  a  British 
mail  steamer  by  Captain  Wilkes,  of  the  United  States  Navy. 
Every  Tory  mind  in  the  universe  desired  that  letter  to  be  couched 
in  such  language  as  would  preclude  the  possibility  of  a  peaceful 
issue.  But  Prince  Albert  had  not  a  Tory  mind. 

Collecting,  with  a  great  effort,  his  benumbing  faculties,  he 
read  the  letter  carefully  over,  and  suggested  changes  which  softened 
its  tone,  and  made  far  easier  a  compliance  with  its  just  demands. 
Soon  after  the  performance  of  this  duty,  so  honorable  to  his 
memory,  he  relapsed  into  a  lethargy  from  which  death  alone 
released  him. 

Until  1 86 1  the  Queen  had  never  known  bereavement  in  the 
circle  of  her  immediate  family.  Nine  children  had  been  born  to 

«/ 

her,  and,  although  it  was  understood  that  certain  of  her  younger 
offspring  did  not  possess  that  robustness  of  health  which  their  elder 
brothers  and  sisters  enjoyed,  yet  not  one  was  taken  young  from  the 
hands  of  their  loving  parents  by  the  hand  of  the  Great  Destroyer. 
Early  in  1861  came  the  first  pang  of  bereavement.  The  Duchess 
of  Kent,  ripe  in  years,  one  of  the  best  mothers  of  the  best  of  grand- 
mothers, a  lady  of  whose  memory  all  Britons  now  and  hereafter 
owe  an  incalculable  debt  of  gratitude,  passed  peacefully  away  with 
her  descendants  gathered  around  her  bedside. 

When  the  royal  family  returned  from  Balmoral  in  October,  it 
was  observed  that  the  Prince  Consort  was  not  in  his  usual  health 
and  vigor,  but  he  had  no  pronounced  ailment,  and  nothing 
approaching  to  serious  alarm  was  for  many  weeks  apprehended. 
In  the  course  of  the  succeeding  month  he  went  to  Cambridge,  to 
visit  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who  was  a  student  at  that  university,  as 


MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT          289 

he  had  previously  been  for  a  short  time  at  Oxford.  He  went  out 
shooting  while  there,  got  wet,  and,  as  the  Duke  of  Kent  had  done, 
was  so  imprudent  as  to  sit  down  without  removing  his  wet  clothes. 
Nevertheless,  on  his  return  to  Windsor,  he  pursued  his  usual  daily 
vocations.  About  the  beginning  of  December  he  appeared  in 
public  with  the  Queen,  and  reviewed  the  volunteer  corps  among 
the  Eton  boys.  The  rain  fell  fast,  and  the  Prince  was  seized  on 
the  review  grounds  with  acute  pains  in  the  back.  Feverish 
symptoms  supervened,  and  the  doctors  ordered  confinement  to 
his  room.  Still  no  alarm  was  entertained,  and  it  was  believed 
that  he  suffered  only  from  a  passing  malady.  The  general  public 
knew  nothing  of  the  ailment  until  some  solicitude  was  caused  by  a 
bulletin,  which  appeared  in  the  "  Court  Circular"  of  the  8th  of 
December : 

HIS    ILLNESS    AND    DEATH 

"  His  Royal  Highness,  the  Prince  Consort,  has  been  confined  to 
his  apartments  for  the  past  week,  suffering  from  a  feverish  cold, 
with  pains  in  the  limbs.  Within  the  last  few  days  the  feverish 
symptoms  have  rather  increased,  and  are  likely  to  continue  for 
some  time  longer,  but  there  are  no  unfavorable  symptoms.  The 
party  which  had  been  invited  by  her  Majesty's  command  to  assem- 
ble at  Windsor  Castle  on  Monday  has  been  countermanded." 

Not  until  the  i3th  was  any  bulletin  issued  which  caused  real 
anxiety  and  alarm.  On  the  day  following,  the  morning  papers 
contained  the  ominous  announcement  that  he  had  "  passed  a  rest- 
less night,  and  the  symptoms  had  assumed  an  unfavorable  charac- 
ter during  the  day."  The  Times,  in  a  leading  article,  while  hoping 
for  the  best,  startled  all  by  its  statement  that  "  the  fever  which  has 
attacked  him  is  a  weakening  and  wearying  malady."  On  the  morn- 
ing of  Saturday  there  was  a  favorable  turn,  but  which  was  soon 
followed  by  a  serious  relapse.  After  4  p.  M.  the  fever  assumed  a 
malignant  typhoid  type,  and  he  began  to  sink  with  such  rapidity 
that  all  stimulants  failed  to  check  the  quick  access  of  weakness. 
At  9  o'clock  a  telegram  was  received  in  the  city  that  the  Prince 


29o  MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

was  dying  fast,  and  a  few  minutes  before  1 1  all  was  over.  "  On 
Saturday  night  last,"  said  one  of  the  daily  journals  of  the  succeed- 
ing Monday,  "  at  an  hour  when  the  shops  in  the  metropolis  had 
hardly  closed,  when  the  theatres  were  delighting  thousands  of 
theatre-goers,  when  the  markets  were  thronged  with  humble  buyers 
seeking  to  provide  for  their  Sunday  requirements,  when  the  foot- 
passengers  yet  lingered  in  the  half-emptied  streets,  allured  by  the 
soft  air  of  a  calm,  clear  evening,  a  family  in  which  the  whole 
interest  of  this  great  nation  is  centered  were  assembled  less  than 
five-and-twenty  miles  away,  in  the  royal  residence  at  Windsor,  in 
the  deepest  affliction  around  the  death-bed  of  a  beloved  husband 
and  father.  In  the  prime  of  life,  without — so  to  speak — a  longer 
warning  than  that  of  forty-eight  hours,  Prince  Albert,  the  Consort 
of  our  Queen,  the  parent  of  our  future  monarchs,  has  been  stricken 
down  by  a  short  but  malignant  disorder."  Shortly  after  midnight 
the  great  bell  of  St.  Paul's,  which  is  never  tolled  except  upon  the 
death  of  a  member  of  the  royal  family,  boomed  the  fatal  tidings 
over  a  district  extending,  in  the  quietude  of  the  early  Sabbath 
morn,  for  miles  around  the  metropolis. 

The  Queen,  the  Princess  Alice,  and  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who 
had  been  hastily  summoned  from  Cambridge,  sat  with  the  dying 
good  man  until  the  last.  After  the  closing  scene  the  Queen  sup- 
ported herself  nobly,  and  after  a  short  burst  of  uncontrollable 
grief,  she  is  said  to  have  gathered  her  children  around  her,  and 
addressed  them  in  the  most  solemn  and  affectionate  terms.  "  She 
declared  to  her  family  that,  though  she  felt  crushed  by  the  loss  of 
one  who  had  been  her  companion  through  life,  she  knew  how  much 
was  expected  of  her,  and  she  accordingly  called  on  her  children  to 
give  her  their  assistance,  in  order  that  she  might  do  her  duty  to 
them  and  to  her  country."  The  Duke  of  Cambridge  and  many 
gentlemen  connected  with  the  Court,  with  six  of  the  royal  children, 
were  present  at  the  Prince's  death.  In  answer  to  some  one  of 
those  present,  who  tenderly  offered  condolence,  the  Queen  ?s 


MEMORIAL  OF  ALBERT,  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT          291 

reported  to  have  said  :   "  I  suppose  I  must  not  fret  too  much,  for 
many  poor  women  have  to  go  through  the  same  trial." 

The  sad  news  became  generally  known  in  the  metropolis  and 
in  the  great  cities  of  the  empire  early  on  Sunday.  Unusually  large 
congregations  filled  the  churches  and  chapels  at  morning  service. 
"  There  was  a  solemn  eloquence  in  the  subdued  but  distinctly  per- 
ceptible sensation  which  crept  over  the  congregations  in  the  prin- 
cipal churches  when,  in  the  prayer  for  the  royal  family,  the  Prince 
Consort's  name  was  omitted.  It  was  well  remarked,  if  ever  the 
phrase  was  permissible,  it  might  then  be  truly  said  that  the  name 
of  the  departed  Prince  was  truly  conspicuous  by  its  absence,  for 
never  was  the  gap  that  this  event  has  made  in  our  national  life,  as 
well  as  in  the  domestic  happiness  of  the  palace,  more  vividly  real- 
ized than  when  the  name  that  has  mingled  so  familiarly  with  our 
prayers  for  the  last  twenty  years  was,  for  the  first  time,  left  out  of 
our  devotions."  Many  thousands  of  mute  pious  petitions  were 
specially  addressed  to  Heaven  for  the  bereaved  widow  and  orphans 
when  the  prayer  of  the  Litany  for  "  all  who  are  desolate  and 
oppressed  "  was  uttered,  and  in  the  chapels  of  Non-conformists  the 
extemporaneous  prayers  of  the  ministers  gave  articulate  expression 
to  the  heartfelt  orisons  of  the  silent  worshippers.  Every  one  thought 
of  and  felt  for  the  Queen,  and  during  the  week  intervening  between 
the  death  and  the  funeral,  the  question  on  every  one's  lips  in  all 
places  of  resort,  and  where  men  and  women  congregated,  was, 
"  How  will  the  Queen  bear  it  ?" 

The  grief  of  the  Queen  was,  indeed,  intense  and  heart-break- 
ing ;  but  her  high  and  unselfish  sense  of  duty  contended  with  it. 
It  seems  from  what  her  Majesty  often  remarked  to  those  about  her 
that  the  Prince  must  actually  have  prepared  her  in  a  degree  for 
encountering  this  great  sorrow.  Doubtless  it  was  during  his  affec- 
tionate efforts  to  soothe  her  after  the  Duchess  of  Kent's  death  that 
he  read  with  her  the  charming  book,  "  Heaven  our  Home,"  and 
often  spoke  of  a  future  state.  We  are  told  that  he  once  said, 
44  We  don't  know  in  what  state  we  shall  meet  again,  but  that  we 


292 

shall  recognize  each  other,  and  be  together  in  eternity,  I  am  per- 
fectly certain." 

Prince  Albert  sleeps  the  long  sleep  at  Frogmore,  to  which  his 
mortal  remains  were  borne  reverently  and  without  ostentation,  as 
he  himself  would  have  wished.  The  inscription  on  his  coffin  ran 
thus : 

DEPOSITUM 

ILLUSTRISSIMI  ET  CELSISSIMI  ALBERTI/ 
PRINCIPIS  CONSORTIS, 

Ducis  SAXONLE, 

DE  SAXE-COBURG  ET  GOTHA  PRINCIPIS, 

NOBILISSIMI  ORDINIS  PERISCELIDIS  EQUITIS, 

AUGUSTISSIM^:  ET  PoTENTISSIM^  VICTORIA  REGIN^, 

CONJUGIS  PERCARISSIMI, 

OBIIT  DIE  DECIMO  QUARTO  DECEMBRIS,  MDCCCLXI. 
ANNO  yETATis  SUME  XLIII, 

(Here  lies  the  most  illustrious  and  exalted  Albert,  Prince  Consort, 
Duke  of  Saxony,  Prince  of  Saxe-Coburg  and  Gotha,  Knight  of  the 
Most  Noble  Order  of  the  Garter,  the  most  beloved  husband  of  the 
most  august  and  potent  Queen  Victoria.  He  died  on  the  fourteenth 
day  of  December,  1861,  in  the  forty-third  year  of  his  age.) 

Thus  died  and  was  buried  a  great  and  good  man,  one  of  the 
most  useful  men  of  his  age,  one  to  whom  England  owes  much. 


CHAPTER   XVII 
Lonely  Days  of   Widowhood 

THE  body  of  the  Prince  Consort  having  been  committed  to  its 
temporary    resting-place    in    the    entrance    of  St.    George's 
Chapel,  Windsor  Castle,  on   Monday,  December  23d,  1861, 
with   the    pomp    befitting   the    funeral  of    so  great  a  prince,  the 
Queen  entered  on  the  last,  the  noblest,  stage  of  her  earthly  career 
— a  term  of  her  glorious  reign  that  was  prolonged  for  many  years. 
In  the  opening  term  of  her  reign  the  virgin   Queen  enjoyed  the 
sympathy  and  tender  interest  of  the  great  majority  of  her  people. 
In  the  second  period  of  her  regal  story  she  won  and  held  the  world's 
admiration  by  the  graces  of  her  character  and  the  splendor  of  her 
circumstances.     In  the  latest  passage  of  her  noble  life  she  was  re- 
garded by  all  her  thoughtful  and  well-informed  subjects  with  affec- 
tionate reverence. 

The  notion  that  she  was  for  a  time  so  broken  by  her  great 
bereavement  as  to  be  incapable  of  discharging  the  most  important 
and  difficult  functions  of  her  sovereignty  is  quite  erroneous.  The 
Queen,  who  in  her  letters  speaks  of  herself  as  suffering  more  from 
comparatively  trivial  disquietudes  than  from  her  gravest  misfortunes, 
proved,  under  the  most  crucial  of  her  several  severe  afflictions,  that 
she  could  endure  the  sharpest  tribulation  with  heroic  fortitude.  "  I 
think  it  is  a  circumstance  worthy  of  observation,"  the  Duke  of 
Argyll  remarked  in  a  speech,  "and  which  ought  to  be  known  to  all 
the  people  of  this  country,  that  during  all  the  years  of  the  Queen's 
affliction,  during  which  she  has  lived  necessarily  in  comparative 
retirement,  she  has  omitted  no  part  of  that  public  duty  which  con- 
cerns her  as  sovereign  of  this  country  ;  that  on  no  occasion  during 
her  grief  has  she  neglected  work  in  those  public  duties  which  belong 

293 


294  LONELY  DAYS  OF  WIDOWHOOD 

to  her  exalted  position  ;  and  I  am  sure  that  when  the  Queen 
reappears  again  on  more  public  occasions,  the  people  of  this  country 
will  regard  her  only  with  increased  affection,  from  the  recollection 
that  during  all  the  time  of  her  care  and  sorrow  she  had  devoted 
herself  without  one  day's  intermission  to  those  cares  of  government 
which  belong  to  her  position  as  sovereign  of  this  country."  To  the 
statesman  who  uttered  these  authoritative  words  the  purely  cere- 
monious work  of  holding  levees  and  drawing-rooms,  of  opening 
and  proroguing  Parliament  in  person,  and  of  presiding  at  the 
festivities  of  the  palace, — the  work  which  the  ignorant  and  frivolous 
regard  as  the  sovereign's  chief  work, — did  not  appear  worthy  to  be 
spoken  of  as  a  part  of  Her  Majesty's  governmental  labor. 

HER    ELDEST    SON    TAKES    A    TOUR 

In  the  course  of  the  month  of  February,  1862,  she  despatched 
her  eldest  son  on  his  oriental  tour,  so  that  his  education  should  not 
suffer  from  any  indulgence  of  her  wish  to  have  him  near  her.  Some 
months  after  she  had  thus  sent  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  distant  lands, 
in  execution  of  the  Prince  Consort's  design  for  his  eldest  son's 
education,  the  Queen  showed  fortitude  in  consenting  that  the  Prin- 
cess Alice's  marriage  with  Prince  Louis  of  Hesse  should  be  cele- 
brated at  midsummer.  Always  dear  to  her  mother,  this  gentle 
princess  had  become  so  unutterably  precious  to  the  Queen  during 
the  Prince  Consort's  illness  and  the  subsequent  weeks  of  mourning 
that  it  cost  Her  Majesty  a  painful  effort  to  encourage  the  darling 
daughter  to  fulfil  her  promise  to  Prince  Louis  so  soon.  There  was 
not  much  rejoicing  at  the  quiet  wedding  on  the  ist  of  July,  1862,  at 
which  the  Queen  appeared  in  dress  of  deepest  mourning ;  and  two 
hearts  were  bleeding  when  mother  and  daughter  exchanged  farewell 
kisses.  The  parting  would  have  been  more  painful  had  it  not  been 
settled  that  the  bride  should  often  visit  England.  In  August  the 
court  went  to  Balmoral ;  and  on  the  twenty-first  of  the  month  the 
Queen  drove  in  a  little  carriage,  drawn  by  her  Corriemulzie  pony,  to 
the  summit  of  Craig  Lowrigan,  to  cooperate  with  six  of  her  children 


LONELY  DAYS  OF  WIDOWHOOD  295 

in  laying  the  foundation  of  a  cairn  in  memory  of  the  Prince  Consort 
— the  cairn,  forty  feet  wide  and  thirty-five  feet  high,  to  which  refer- 
ence is  made  elsewhere,  that,  overlooking  the  valley,  reminds  way- 
farers of  a  lofty  nature  and  a  noble  life. 

On  the  1 8th  of  December,  the  fourth  day  after  the  first  anniver- 
sary of  his  death,  the  body  of  the  Prince  Consort  was  removed  from 
St.  George's  Chapel,  in  the  presence  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  Prince 
Arthur,  Prince  Leopold,  and  Prince  Louis  of  Hesse,  and  placed  in  the 
mausoleum  at  Frogmore,  the  royal  tomb  erected  by  Her  Majesty  at  a 
cost  of  more  than  $1,000,000,  paid  out  of  her  private  purse.  The  year 
closed  with  a  tribute  of  sympathy  to  Her  Majesty  by  the  "many 
widows"  who  subscribed  for  the  superbly  bound  Bible  that  was 
brought  to  the  Queen  by  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland.  In  her 
written  acknowledgment  of  this  expression  of  reverential  affection 
the  Queen  spoke  of  her  sorrow  in  these  words :  "The  only  sort 
of  consolation  she  experiences  is  in  the  constant  sense  of  his  unseen 
presence,  and  the  blessed  thought  of  the  eternal  union  hereafter, 
which  will  make  the  anguish  of  the  present  appear  as  naught." 

On  the  loth  of  March,  1863,  the  Queen  witnessed  from  the 
royal  closet  the  brilliant  celebration  of  the  Prince  of  Wales'  wedding 
with  the  Princess  Alexandra  of  Denmark,  in  St.  George's  Chapel,  at 
Windsor  Castle,  and  in  her  widow's  dress  received  the  pair  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Castle  on  their  return  from  the  ceremony  at  the 
chapel.  An  event  that  stirred  Her  Majesty's  heart  no  less  deeply 
than  her  eldest  son's  wedding  took  place  on  Easter  Sunday,  the  5th 
of  April.  On  that  day  the  Princess  Alice,  who  had  been  staying  in 
England  since  the  middle  of  November,  1862,  gave  birth  to  her  first- 
born child  at  Windsor  Castle.  When  the  Queen  went  to  Netley  on 
the  Qth  of  May  to  inspect  the  military  hospital  whose  foundation-stone 
she  laid  in  1856,  she  was  accompanied  by  the  Princess  Alice,  whose 
long  stay  in  England  was  now  drawing  to  a  close.  "In  to-day's  let- 
ter," the  Princess  wrote  on  the  eve  of  her  departure  for  Hesse- 
Darmstadt  to  her  mother,  "you  mention  again  your  wish  that  we 
should  soon  be  with  you  again.  Out  of  the  ten  months  of  our  mar- 


2  96  L  ONEL  Y  DA  YS  OF  WID  O  WHO  OD 

ried  life  five  have  been  spent  under  your  roof,  so  you  see  how  ready 
we  are  to  be  with  you.  Before  next  year  Louis  does  not  think  that 
we  shall  be  able  to  come."  But  Prince  Louis  discovered  that  he 
could  reappear  in  Great  Britain  before  next  year,  when  he  saw  how 
much  the  Queen  needed  his  wife's  companionship. 

THE    FIRST    ENGLISH    GRANDCHILD 

On  the  8th  of  January,  1864,  great  commotion  was  occasioned 
at  Frogmore  by  the  premature  birth  of  the  Queen's  "  first  English 
grandchild,"  as  Princess  Alice  described  the  little  Prince,  who  was 
baptized  and  named  Albert  Victor  at  Buckingham  Palace,  on  the 
loth  of  March,  the  first  anniversary  of  the  wedding  of  his  parents,  the 
Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales.  Cheered  by 'the  appearance  of  an 
heir  to  her  heir-apparent,  the  Queen  directed  that  her  next  birthday 
should  be  kept  in  London  with  the  renewal  of  those  signs  of  glad- 
ness which  had  been  stayed  for  two  years  by  her  grief  and  by  the 
nation's  sympathy  with  her  sorrow.  London  once  again  resounded 
with  the  birthday  salutes  from  the  tower  and  the  park,  and  a  great 
multitude  gathered  in  St.  James's  Park  to  witness  the  review  of  the 
household  troops.  On  her  way  to  Balmoral  in  the  following  August, 
with  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Saxe-Coburg  Gotha,  Her  Majesty 
stayed  at  Perth  to  unveil  the  statue  that  had  been  erected  there  in 
memory  of  the  good  Prince  Consort. 

Ever  thoughtful  of  her  subjects,  the  Queen,  on  the  ist  of 
January,  1865,  was  moved  by  the  recent  frequency  of  railroad 
accidents  to  direct  Sir  Charles  Phipps  to  write  in  her  name  to  the 
directors  of  the  principal  railway  companies,  declaring  her  desire 
that  more  care  should  be  taken  for  the  .safety  of  passengers.  After 
observing  that  Her  Majesty  was  actuated  by  no  selfish  motives  in 
calling  attention  to  the  late  accidents,  as  she  was  aware  of  the  ex- 
ceptional care  taken  by  directors  of  railways  for  her  safety,  Sir 
Charles  Phipps  went  on  to  say:  "The  Queen  hopes  it  unnecessary 
for  her  to  recall  to  the  recollection  of  railway  directors  the  heavy 
responsibility  they  have  assumed  since  they  have  succeeded  in  secur- 


L  ONEL  Y  DA  YS  OF  WID  O  WHO  OD  297 

ing  the  monopoly  of  the  means  of  traveling  of  almost  the  entire 
population  of  the  country."  That  the  Queen  had  so  far  recovered 
from  the  sharpest  anguish  of  her  great  sorrow  that  her  children 
could  venture  to  remind  her  of  the  darkest  passage  of  her  story 
appears  from  one  of  Princess  Alice's  letters.  "  How  much,"  the 
Princess  wrote  to  her  mother  on  the  yth  of  February,  1865,  "do  I 
think  of  you  now  [and]  the  happy  silver  wedding  that  would  have 
been,  where  you  could  have  been  surrounded  by  so  many  of  us." 

Five  weeks  later  sympathy  for  poor  sufferers  from  the  malady 
that  in  the  English  climate  destroys  more  lives  than  any  other  dis- 
ease determined  Her  Majesty  to  visit  the  Brompton  Consumption 
Hospital,  on  the  i4th  of  March,  and  thereby  to  remind  the  more 
humane  of  her  wealthy  subjects  of  the  right  so  needful  an  institution 
had  to  their  bounty.  In  the  following  month  Her  Majesty  had  no 
sooner  heard  of  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln,  than  she 
hastened  to  express  her  sorrow  for  the  deplorable  event  to  the 
American  people  and  to  the  family  of  the  late  President.  Instruct- 
ing her  minister  at  Washington  to  declare  her  abhorrence  of  the 
crime  to  the  American  Government,  the  widowed  Queen  despatched 
a  letter  of  condolence  written  entirely  in  her  own  hand — a  letter 
overflowing  with  pathetic  tenderness  and  sisterly  sympathy — to  Mrs. 
Lincoln.  On  the  8th  of  August  the  Queen  left  England  and 
journeyed  to  Coburg  with  her  three  unmarried  daughters  and  her 
youngest  son,  Prince  Leopold,  to  unveil  the  gilt  bronze  statue  of 
the  Prince  Consort  that  stands  in  the  market-place  of  that  picturesque 
town.  The  month  that  saw  the  Queen  and  her  children  put  nose- 
gays upon  the  pedestal  of  this  statue  until  the  topmost  flowers  touched 
the  feet  of  the  colossal  figure  was  the  month  in  which  Prince  Albert, 
the  Duke  of  Coburg's  adopted  heir,  attained  his  majority.  On  her 
homeward  way  during  this  trip,  which  covered  exactly  a  month,  Her 
Majesty  passed  through  Belgium  to  Ostend,  where  she  visited  her 
dearly  beloved  uncle,  Leopold,  and  in  bidding  him  adieu  did  so  for 
the  last  time. 

Four  years  having  passed  since  the  Prince  Consort's  death,  the 
'7 


29s  LONELY  DAYS  OF  WIDOWHOOD 

Queen's  regard  for  the  wishes  of  her  people  determined  her  to 
appear  more  often  in  public  than  she  had  done  since  her  great 
bereavement.  On  the  6th  of  February,  1866,  she  opened  her 
seventh  Parliament  in  person,  wearing  upon  the  occasion  a  dress  of 
half-mourning — a  robe  of  deep  purple  velvet  and  a  Mary  Stuart  cap 
of  white  lace,  with  a  collar  of  brilliants  about  her  neck,  and  the  blue 
ribbon  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter  upon  her  breast.  Thus  attired, 
she  sat  in  silence  while  the  Lord  Chancellor  read  her  speech.  In 
the  following  month  she  instituted  the  new  decoration  of  the  Albert 

o 

Medal,  for  rewarding  persons  who  should  imperil  their  lives  in 
striving  to  rescue  human  life  from  perils  at  sea  ;  and  twice  in  the 
same  month  she  went  to  Aldershot,  where  she  reviewed  some  of  her 
troops. 

It  was  in  this  year  that  the  Queen  acknowledged  Mr.  Peabody's 
munificence  to  the  London  poor  by  sending  him  a  miniature  portrait 
of  herself,  together  with  a  letter  written  entirely  by  her  own  hand, 
that  gave  expression  to  her  admiration  of  the  American  millionaire's 
benevolence.  "Next  to  the  approval  of  my  own  conscience,"  Mr. 
Peabody  remarked  in  his  reply  to  the  Queen's  epistle,  "  I  shall 
always  prize  the  assurance  which  your  Majesty's  letter  conveys 
to  me  of  the  approbation  of  the  Queen  of  England,  whose  whole 
life  has  attested  that  her  exalted  station  has  in  no  degree  diminished 
her  sympathy  with  the  humblest  of  her  subjects."  The  season 
of  1866  is  memorable  in  the  annals  of  "society"  as  the  season 
of  two  royal  marriages,  at  both  of  which  Her  Majesty  was  present. 
On  the  1 2th  of  June  the  Queen  attended  the  wedding  in  Kew 
Church  of  her  cousin,  Mary  of  Cambridge,  with  Prince  Teck  ;  and 
on  the  5th  of  July  Her  Majesty  appeared  in  St.  George's  Chapel, 
Windsor  Castle,  and  there  gave  her  daughter,  the  Princess  Helena, 
to  Prince  Christian  of  Schleswig-Holstein. 

During  this  year,  in  which  the  Queen  gave  so  many  indications 
of  a  disposition  to  appear  more  often  in  public,  and  for  some  time 
before,  there  were  heard  in  London  mutterings  of  discontent  at  Her 
Majesty's  retirement,  and  toward  the  close  of  the  year  it  occurred 


LONELY  DAYS  OF  WIDOWHOOD  299 

to  a  member  of  Parliament,  a  Mr.  Ayrton,  that  he  might  make 
a  stir  and  win  notoriety  for  himself  by  speaking  fearlessly  of  the 
Queen's  prolonged  retirement  from  the  world,  at  a  public  meeting  to 
be  held  in  December  at  St.  James'  Hall,  London.  The  meeting 
was  in  support  of  a  movement  for  the  political  enfranchisement 
of  the  working-classes,  and  was  to  be  a  great  gathering  of  labor 
delegates  from  the  whole  country.  Mr.  Ayrton  spoke  fearlessly,  but 
the  effect  of  his  courageous  words  disappointed  him.  Before  the 
proceedings  of  the  evening  were  closed  with  the  customary  vote  of 
thanks  to  the  chairman,  the  great  statesman,  John  Bright,  made 
a  speech  in  these  memorable  words : 

JOHN  BRIGHT'S  NOBLE  WORDS 

"  I  am  not  accustomed  to  stand  up  in  defense  of  those  who  are 
possessors  of  crowns,  but  I  could  not  sit  and  hear  that  observation 
without  a  sensation  of  wonder  and  of  pain.  I  think  there  has  been, 
by  many  persons,  a  great  injustice  done  the  Queen  in  reference  to 
her  desolate  and  widowed  position,  and  I  venture  to  say  this,  that  a 
woman,  be  she  Queen  of  a  great  realm  or  the  wife  of  one  of  your 
laboring  men,  who  can  keep  alive  in  her  heart  a  great  sorrow  for 
the  lost  object  of  her  life  and  affection  is  not  at  all  likely  to  be 
wanting  in  a  great  and  generous  sympathy  for  you." 

The  effect  of  these  manly  words  on  the  great  meeting  was  pro- 
digious. Rising  to  their  feet,  the  auditors  shook  the  roof  of  the 
building  with  their  cheering,  and  from  cheering  they  passed  to 
singing,  with  strong  emotion,  "  God  Save  the  Queen  ! "  Whether 
Her  Majesty  ever  heard  of  the  speech  or  not,  it  is  a  pleasing  inci- 
dent that  when  Mr.  Bright  lost  his  wife  a  kind  message  came  from 
Windsor  Castle  expressing  her  sympathy  in  his  bereavement. 

At  a  later  time  an  article  appeared  in  the  London  "Times" 
in  her  defense.  There  were  rumors  that  it  was  from  the  Queen's 
own  pen,  but  these  were  not  confirmed.  After  touching  on  the 
popular  expressions  of  feeling  it  said:  "The  Queen  heartily  appre- 
ciates the  desire  of  her  subjects  to  see  her,  and  whatever  she  can 


3co  LONELY  DAYS  OF  WIDOWHOOD 

do  to  gratify  them  in  this  loyal,  affectionate  wish  she  will  do. 
Whenever  any  real  object  is  to  be  obtained  by  her  appearing-  on 
public  occasions,  any  national  interest  to  be  promoted,  or  anything 
to  be  encouraged  which  is  for  the  good  of  her  people,  her  Majesty 
will  not  shrink,  as  she  has  not  shrunk,  from  any  personal  sacrifice 
or  exertion,  however  painful.  But  there  are  other  and  higher 
duties  than  those  of  mere  representation  which  are  now  thrown  on 
the  Queen  alone  and  unassisted — duties  which  she  can  not  neglect 
without  injury  to  the  public  service  ;  which  weigh  unceasingly  upon 
her,  overwhelming  her  with  work  and  anxiety.  .  .  .  To  call 
upon  her  to  undergo,  in  addition,  the  fatigue  of  those  mere  state 
ceremonies  which  can  be  equally  well  performed  by  other  English 
members  of  her  family  is  to  ask  her  to  run  the  risk  of  entirely  dis- 
abling herself  for  the  discharge  of  those  other  duties  which  can  not 
be  neglected  without  serious  injury  to  the  public  interests." 

The  publication  of  this  remarkable  state  paper  had  a  good 
effect  on  popular  sentiment,  and  the  effect  would  have  been  greater 
if  ordinary  people  had  been  in  a  position  to  understand,  as  is  known 
now,  the  magnitude  and  importance  to  the  state  of  the  Queen's 
duties. 

In  February,  1867,  the  Queen  opened  Parliament  for  the  session 
that  gave  the  country  a  measure  of  electoral  reform  even  more 
momentous  than  the  great  reform  bill  of  William  the  Fourth's  time, 
and  which  we  explain  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  The  year  that 
admitted  the  working  classes  to  so  large  a  share  in  the  government 
of  the  country  saw  the  publication  of  "  The  Early  Years  of  the 
Prince  Consort,"  the  first  of  the  series  of  books  by  which  the  Queen 
has  taken  those  classes,  together  with  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  the 
educated  people  of  Great  Britain,  into  her  privacy  and  domestic 
confidence.  Unlike  those  other  sovereigns  who  show  themselves 

o 

once  in  a  while  to  the  populace  in  public  places,  but  are  known 
in  no  closer  or  kindlier  way  to  the  multitude,  the  Queen  has,  by 
these  remarkable-  books,  opened  the  doors  of  her  palace  to  her  sub- 
jects of  every  order  and  degree,  and  said,  even  to  the  humblest  of 


•^ 


•• 


(IREAT  CHURCH  DIGNITARIES    ' 
MINISTERS  OF  VICTORIAS  RE /OK 


W  "5 

o  ~ 

2  = 

<  3 


Z    a 

O  '~ 

Si 
all 


LONELY  DAYS  OF  WIDOWHOOD  303 

them,  "  Come  in  and  know  me,  even  as  I  am  known  to  the  member? 
of  my  household  and  my  nearest  kindred."  On  the  2Oth  of  May 
the  Queen  laid  the  foundation-stone  of  the  Royal  Albert  Hall  at 
Kensington  Gore,  and  in  doing  so  gave  utterance  to  her  hope  that 
the  building  about  to  be  raised  to  her  husband's  honor  would  "look 
down  on  such  a  center  of  institutions  for  the  promotion  of  art  and 
science  as  it  was  his  fond  hope  to  establish"  in  that  western  quarter. 

DEATH  OF  A  FAITHFUL  FRIEND 

In  the  faithful  execution  of  her  promise  to  appear  in  public 
whenever  she  could  further  any  national  interest  by  doing  so  the 
Queen  went  in  May,  1870,  to  Burlington  Gardens,  and  there  opened 
the  new  buildings  of  the  University  of  London,  an  institution  that 
began  its  career  of  splendid  service  to  science  in  the  first  year  of 
Her  Majesty's  reign.  In  the  following  month,  though  time  and  the 
gradual  failure  of  the  invalid's  powers  had  prepared  her  for  the 
event,  the  Queen  felt  acutely  the  death  of  her  old  friend,  Sir  James 
Clark,  M.  D.,  on  whom  she  had  conferred  a  baronetcy  in  the  first 
year  of  her  reign.  Grateful  to  him  for  strictly  professional  services 
(it  was  the  Queen's  way  to  be  grateful  to  those  who  served  her 
faithfully),  she  honored  this  exemplary  physician  for  his  several 
noble  qualities,  and  more  especially  for  the  uncomplaining  dignity 
with  which  he  had  borne  the  obloquy  that  was  cast  upon  him  by  un- 
informed and  talkative  people  who  conceived  that  he  had  on  one 
occasion  given  her  bad  counsel.  On  the  monument  which  she  placed 
in  Hughenden  Church  to  the  memory  of  Lord  Beaconsfield,  Her 
Majesty  caused  the  sculptor  to  put  in  enduring  letters  the  fit  words  : 
"Kings  love  him  that  speaketh  right."  The  Queen,  who  honored 
the  statesman  for  the  truth  and  wisdom  of  his  words,  in  like  manner 
honored  the  physician  who  spoke  that  which  was  right  and  never 
repined  at  the  consequences. 

Having  opened  Parliament  in  person  on  the  9th  of  February, 
1871,  the  Queen  appeared  on  the  2ist  of  March  at  the  marriage  of 
Princess  Louise  to  the  Marquis  of  Lome,  which  was  celebrated  at 


304  LONELY  DAYS  OF  WIDOWHOOD 

St.  George's  Chapel,  Windsor,  with  pomp  and  splendor,  the  bride 
being  "given  away"  by  her  mother.  Eight  days  later  Her  Majesty 
went  in  state  to  Kensington  Gore  and  opened  the  Royal  Albert 
Hall,  just  three  years  and  ten  months  after  she  had  laid  the 
foundation-stone  of  the  building.  The  Franco-German  war  having 
been  fought  to  an  end  bitter  for  the  power  that  had  entered  so 
lightly  on  the  stern  struggle,  and  Napoleon  III.  having  passed  from 
imperial  grandeur  to  sad  exile,  the  Queen  went  in  April  to  Chisel- 
hurst  to  pay  a  visit  of  courtesy  to  the  fallen  emperor  and  empress. 
Later  in  the  year  the  Queen  neared  another  passage  of  search- 
ing trouble  and  anxiety.  Nearly  ten  years  had  passed  since  her 
husband's  death  ;  she  had  survived  the  tenth  anniversary  of  the  day 
on  which  he  began  to  fall  ill  of  typhoid  fever,  when,  on  her  return 
from  Scotland  to  Windsor,  she  received  from  Sandringham,  on  the 
25th  of  November,  the  alarming  intelligence  that  her  eldest  son  was 
already  suffering  from  an  attack  of  the  same  malady,  or  at  least 
from  severe  febrile  illness  that  would  probably  prove  to  be  an  attack 
of  this  dread  disease.  On  the  Qth  of  November  (the  Prince  of 
Wales'  birthday)  Princess  Alice  had  written  cheerily  and  tenderly 
from  Sandringham  to  her  mother :  "  Bertie  and  Alix  are  so  kind, 
and  give  us  so  warm  a  welcome,  showing  how  they  like  having  us, 
that  it  feels  quite  home.  .  .  .  They  are  both  charming  hosts,  and 
all  the  party  suit  well  together."  On  the  twenty-ninth  the  Queen 
was  journeying  to  Norfolk  to  aid  in  nursing  her  son.  It  does  not 
appear  precisely  from  printed  records  how  much  or  little  the  Queen 
knew  of  the  Prince's  illness  before  her  arrival  at  Windsor.  It  is 
enough  to  know  that  before  she  started  for  Sandringham  the  bul- 
letins of  the  Prince's  physicians  had  informed  her  of  his  alarming 
condition,  and  that  she  passed  the  next  fortnight  in  agonizing 
apprehension.  Fortunately,  the  time  at  which  it  was  feared  the 
invalid  would  succumb  to  the  disease  was  the  time  at  which  he 
began  to  throw  off  the  fever  and  gain  strength.  On  the  iQth  of 
December,  just  three  weeks  after  a  rapid  journey  to  Norfolk,  the 
Queen  returned  to  Windsor  with  a  strong  and  reasonable  hope  for 


LONELY  DAYS  OF  WIDOWHOOD  305 

the  invalid's  recovery ;  and  seven  days  later  she  published  the 
simple  and  beautiful  letter  which  declared  how  deeply  she  and  the 
Princess  of  Wales  had  been  stirred  by  the  nation's  sympathy  with 
their  domestic  trouble. 

Two  months  later  the  nation  that  had  shared  so  fully  in  the 
anxiety  of  the  reigning  house  joined  with  the  royal  family  in  return- 
ing thanks  to  Heaven  for  the  Prince's  preservation.  On  the  day  of 
thanksgiving  (the  27th  of  February,  1872)  the  acclamations  which 
greeted  and  followed  the  Queen  and  Princess  of  Wales  as  they 
drove  to  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  declared  the  sentiments  of  the  whole 
people  of  Great  Britain,  and  at  a  later  hour  of  the  day  of  universal 
felicitation,  when  the  millions  of  a  mighty  people  were  rejoicing  and 
giving  thanks  to  God  with  one  heart  and  one  voice,  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  touched  the  right  chord  deftly  in  uttering  the  words 
'  Members  one  of  another,"  as  the  text  for  the  sermon  which  he 
preached  in  the  great  cathedral  to  a  congregation  of  13,000  indi- 
viduals. 

Two  days  after  this  celebration  Her  Majesty  suffered  discom- 
fort from  the  folly  of  Arthur  O'Connor,  an  Irish  youth.  On  her 
return  from  carriage  exercise  in  Hyde  Park  the  Queen  had  driven 
into  the  courtyard  of  Buckingham  Palace,  when  this  fellow  (a  clerk 
in  an  oil  and  color  warehouse)  rushed  up  to  Her  Majesty's  carriage, 
holding  out  a  parchment  in  his  left  hand,  while  he  pointed  a  pistol 
at  the  Queen  with  his  right  hand.  Having  at  first  approached  the 
Queen's  carriage  on  her  left  hand,  the  simpleton  ran  around  to  the 
other  side  of  the  carriage,  and  again  extended  the  parchment  and 
the  pistol  in  a  menacing  manner.  It  gave  John  Brown  little  trouble 
to  seize  and  hold  the  lad,  whose  pistol  was,  on  examination,  found 
to  be  uncharged,  and  whose  piece  of  parchment  proved  to  be  a 
petition  for  the  release  of  imprisoned  Fenians.  John  Brown  and 
Arthur  O'Connor  were  fitly  rewarded  for  their  respective  parts  in 
this  affair.  While  the  beardless  Fenian  was  sentenced  to  a  smart 
birching  and  imprisonment  in  an  insane  asylum,  Her  Majesty's 
capable  body  servant  received  from  his  mistress  a  gold  medal  and  a 


306  L  ONEL  Y  DA  YS  OF  WID  O  WHO OD 

pension  for  life  of  £25  per  annum.     The  Queen,  who  had  for  some 
time  entertained  a  design  of  establishing  an  order  for  the  ackno\vl- 

O  O 

edgment  of  merit  in  her  domestic  servants,  now  executed  her 
design,  and  distinguished  John  Brown  by  according  to  him  the 
honor  of  being  the  first  wearer  of  the  new  medal  for  good  service. 
The  marriage  of  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh  and  the  Grand  Duchess 
Marie  of  Russia  having  been  celebrated  at  St.  Petersburg  on  the 
23d  of  January,  1874,  the  bride  and  bridegroom  passed  through 
London  in  the  following  March,  in  weather  that  perhaps  reminded 
the  Archduchess  agreeably  of  the  weather  in  the  land  from  which  she 
had  come.  But  though  the  snow  fell  in  large  flakes  upon  the  open 
carriage  in  which  the  Queen  drove  with  the  newly  married  couple 
and  Princess  Beatrice  through  the  crowded  streets,  Her  Majesty 
discovered  no  coldness  in  the  welcome  accorded  to  herself  and  her 
children  by  the  people  of  her  capital. 

PROCLAIMED    EMPRESS    OF    INDIA 

May-day,  1876,  is  memorable  in  recent  annals  as  the  day  on 
which  the  Queen  was  proclaimed  "  Empress  of  India,"  and  in  the 
same  month  Her  Majesty  was  again  seen  on  two  occasions  by  large 
numbers  of  her  people — on  the  second  at  a  military  review  at  Alder- 
shot,  and  on  the  thirteenth  at  the  opening  of  the  show  of  scientific 
instruments.  On  the  lyth  of  August  she  was  present  at  the  unveil- 
ing of  the  statue  of  the  Prince  Consort  at  Edinburgh,  and  on  the 
26th  of  September  she  gave  new  colors  to  the  Royal  Scots  (which 
was  her  father's  regiment)  at  Ballater,  in  the  presence  of  some  two 
or  three  thousand  people,  both  of  which  ceremonies  are  described  in 
her  book,  "  More  Leaves." 

In  February,  1878,  the  Queen  was  reminded  of  the  quickness 
with  which  the  years  glide  away  by  the  marriage  of  the  Princess 
Charlotte  of  Prussia.  Now  that  she  had  a  married  granddaughter, 
the  Queen,  with  many  grandchildren,  was  nearing  the  time  when  she 
would  become  a  great-grandmother.  On  the  2Qth  of  April  twelve 
ladies,  two  of  them  being  the  Marchioness  of  Salisbury  and  the 


LONELY  DAYS  OF  WIDOWHOOD  307 

Marchioness  Ripon,  were  invested,  at  Windsor  Castle,  by  Her 
Majesty,  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain  and  Empress  of  India,  with  the 
Imperial  Order  of  the  Crown  of  India. 

In  November  the  Queen  parted  for  a  long  term  with  her 
daughter  Louise,  who  in  that  month  went  with  her  husband  to 
Canada,  and  a  few  weeks  later  all  classes  of  Her  Majesty's  subjects 
were  in  mourning  for  their  loss  of  the  Princess  Alice. 

A  few  days  after  the  Duke  of  Connaught's  marriage  with 
Princess  Louise  of  Prussia,  the  Queen  and  Princess  Beatrice  went, 
in  March,  1879,  to  northern  Italy,  and,  after  passing  four  weeks 
near  the  Lago  Maggiore,  returned  to  England  by  way  of  Turin, 
Paris,  and  Cherbourg,  the  pleasure  of  the  trip  having  been  diminished 
to  both  tourists  by  the  intelligence  of  the  death  of  Her  Majesty's 
grandson,  Prince  Waldemar  of  Prussia.  On  the  i2th  of  May,  ere 
she  had  fully  completed  her  sixtieth  year,  the  Queen  became  a  great- 
grandmother,  by  the  appearance  of  the  first-born  child  of  the  Prince 
and  Princess  of  Saxe-Meiningen. 

On  the  2d  of  March,  1882,  Her  Majesty  was  disquieted  by 
another  futile  attempt  to  slay  or  terrorize  her.  She  had  just  alighted 
from  a  train  at  Windsor  on  her  return  from  town,  and  was  proceed- 
ing to  her  carriage,  when  Roger  Maclean  shot  at  her  with  a  pistol. 
On  his  trial  for  high  treason  the  perpetrator  of  this  outrage  was 
acquitted  of  the  charge  on  the  score  of  insanity,  and  as  a  dangerous 
lunatic  was  committed  to  custody  during  the  Queen's  pleasure. 
Twelve  days  after  the  attempt  the  Queen  and  Princess  Beatrice 
started  for  a  trip  and  sojourn  to  Mentone,  from  which  they  returned 
to  Windsor  Castle  on  the  i4th  of  April.  At  the  close  of  the  month 
St.  George's  Chapel,  Windsor,  was  the  scene  of  another  royal  wed- 
ding— the  wedding  of  Leopold,  Duke  of  Albany,  with  the  Princess 
Helen  of  Waldeck.  On  the  6th  of  May  the  Queen  went  in  state 
to  Epping  Forest,  and,  in  the  presence  of  the  Ranger,  the  Duke  of 
Connaught,  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London,  and  a  vast  assemblage  of 
"her  subjects,  dedicated  the  forest  to  the  perpetual  use  and  enjoy- 
ment of  the  people.  In  the  last  chapter  of  "More  Leaves"  the 


308  L  ONEL  Y  DA  YS  OF  WID  O  WHO  OD 

reader  is  told  of  the  successive  emotions  of  anxiety  and  delight  that 
stirred  Her  Majesty's  breast  in  September,  1882,  on  the  eve  of  the 
battle  of  Tel-el-Kebir,  and  in  the  hours  following  closely  on  the 
arrival  at  Balmoral  of  Sir  John  M'Neill's  telegram,  ."  A  great  victory  ; 
Duke  safe  and  well."  Sir  John's  brief  message  was  followed  quickly 
by  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley's  longer  telegram,  closing-  with  the  words, 
"  Duke  of  Connaught  is  well,  and  behaved  admirably,  leading  his 
brigade  to  the  attack."  As  the  Duchess  of  Connaught  was  staying 
with  her  at  the  time  (the  i3th  of  September),  the  Queen  had  no 
sooner  glanced  at  the  message  than  she  hastened  with  the  precious 
slip  of  paper  in  her  hand  to  her  daughter-in-law.  "  Brown  brought 
the  telegram,"  says  the  Queen  in  her  "Journal,"  "and  followed  me 
to  Beatrice's  room,  where  Louischen  was,  and  I  showed  it  to  her. 
I  was  myself  quite  upset,  and  embraced  her  warmly,  saying  what  joy 
and  pride  and  cause  for  thankfulness  it  was  to  know  our  darling  was 
safe  and  so  much  praised.  .  .  .  We  were  both  much  overcome." 
An  hour  later  the  Queen  and  Princess  Beatrice  were  at  the  Ballater 
railway  station,  exchanging  salutes,  and  embraces,  and  felicitations 
with  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Albany,  whose  "  home-coming " 
could  not  have  fallen  on  a  more  fortunate  day.  There  was  much 
rejoicing  at  Balmoral  in  the  afternoon  ;  and  at  9  P.M.  Craig  Gowan 
blazed  at  its  summit  with  a  great  bonfire,  even  as  it  flamed  forth  in 
the  darkness  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  before,  after  the  fall 
of  Sebastopol.  In  the  following  November  Her  Majesty  was  at 
pains  to  render  due  honor  to  her  victorious  army.  After  reviewing 
8000  soldiers  in  St.  James'  Park  on  the  iSth  of  November,  she  on 
subsequent  days  of  the  same  month  decorated  the  flower  of  her 
Egyptian  heroes  with  medals  and  orders.  On  the  4th  of  December. 
1 88 1,  she  went  to  the  Strand  and  opened  the  new  Courts  of  Justice. 
The  next  year  is  chiefly  memorable  in  Her  Majesty's  personal 
history  for  a  serious  accident  that  caused  her  much  bodily  pain,  for 
the  death  of  the  faithful  domestic  who  had  for  many  years  acted  as 
her  personal  attendant,  and  for  the  beautiful  way  in  which  she  cele- 
brated his  sterling  goodness.  Early  in  the  year  the  Queen  slipped 


LONELY  DAYS  OF  WIDOWHOOD  309 

and  fell  on  one  of  the  staircases  of  Windsor  Castle,  and  in  falling 
upon  one  of  her  knees  received  a  sprain  that  crippled  her  for 
several  weeks,  and  gave  her  acute  pain  for  some  months  after  she 
had  in  some  degree  recovered  the  use  of  the  injured  limb.  Her 
Majesty  was  still  personally  helpless  from  this  misadventure,  and 
enduring  the  sharpest  of  the  various  kinds  of  discomfort  which  it 
occasioned  her,  when  the  trusty  Highlander  for  the  first  time  during 
his  long  service  failed  in  his  duty  to  his  beneficent  mistress.  Struck 
down  by  sudden  illness,  the  faithful  fellow  died  on  the  2/th  of 
March,  the  third  day  from  his  seizure.  "His  loss  to  me,"  the 
Queen  wrote  eight  months  later,  with  fine  womanly  feeling,  in  the 
concluding  note  to  "More  Leaves,"  "ill  and  helpless  as  I  was  at 
the  time  from  an  accident,  is  irreparable,  for  he  deservedly  pos- 
sessed my  entire  confidence ;  and  to  say  that  he  is  daily,  nay, 
hourly,  missed  by  me,  whose  lifelong  gratitude  he  won  by  his  con- 
stant care,  attention,  and  devotion,  is  but  a  feeble  expression  of  the 
truth."  The  volume  which  closes  with  this  simple  utterance  is 
gratefully  dedicated  by  the  Queen  and  Empress  to  her  "loyal 
Highlanders,  and  especially  to  her  devoted  personal  attendant  and 
faithful  friend,  John  Brown."  From  the  literature  of  dedications  it 
would  be  easy  to  produce  curious  examples  of  servility  in  the  lan- 
guage with  which  needy  authors  commended  their  writings  to  the 
protection  of  powerful  patrons,  and  curious  exhibitions  of  amiable 
arrogance  in  the  terms  with  which  authors  of  high  degree  have 
deigned  to  notice  their  humble  worshipers.  But  one  would  search 
English  literature  in  vain  for  a  dedication  that,  for  simple  natural- 
ness and  generous  emotion,  might  be  compared  with  Her  Majesty's 
tribute  of  regard  for  the  domestic  servant,  of  whom  she  says : 

' '  A  truer,  nobler,  trustier  heart, 
More  loyal  and  more  loving,  never  beat 
Within  a  human  breast. ' ' 

On  the  2ist  of  June,  1887,  the  completion  of  the  fiftieth  year 
of  the  Queen's  reign  was  celebrated  by  a  Jubilee  Festival  whose 


3io  L  ONEL  Y  DA  YS  OF  WID  O  WHO  OD 

importance  merits  the  extended  treatment  we  give  it  in  a  separate 
chapter.  Of  all  the  great  personages  who  came  to  London  from 
foreign  lands  to  figure  in  this  famous  celebration,  no  one  showed  to 
greater  advantage  than  Her  Majesty's  son-in-law,  the  then  Crown 
Prince  of  Prussia,  though  he  was  already  suffering  from  the  disease 
of  which  he  was  to  die  in  the  following  year.  From  that  time  until 
the  incurable  malady  had  run  its  course  the  Queen  was  greatly 
troubled  by  the  invalid's  state;  and  when  he  died  so  soon  after  his 
accession  to  imperial  greatness,  her  heart  was  tortured  by  sympathy 
with  her  daughter,  who  resembled  her  mother  in  having  lost  a 
beloved  Ivsband  at  a  comparatively  early  age. 

A    COMFORTING    ANGEL    TO    THE    DISTRESSED 

In  all  these  many  ways  the  Queen  spent  the  lonely  days  of  her 
widowhood.  Her  own  sorrow  drew  her  to  those  who  grieved,  and 
her  naturally  quick  sympathies,  softened  by  her  affliction,  made  her 
a  comforting  angel  to  the  distressed.  When  our  second  martyred 
President  fell  by  the  hand  of  the  assassin,  she  showed  her  sympathy 
with  the  people  of  the  American  Republic  by  ordering  her  court  to 
wear  mourning  for  President  Garfield,  and  at  the  funeral  of  the 
murdered  President  it  was  remarked  that  none  of  the  wreaths  which 
covered  his  coffin  was  more  beautiful  than  the  wreath  from  the 
Queen  of  Great  Britain. 


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THE  QUEEN   AND   PRINCE  ALBERT  VICTOR  OF  WALES 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
A  Series  of  Passing  Incidents 

IT  is  proposed  to  give,  in  the  present  chapter,  certain  events  in 
the  Queen's  career,  of  mingled  joyful  and  sorrowful  strain,  not 

included  in  the  preceding  chapters.  Among  these  events  were 
a  number  of  attacks  on  her  life.  One  of  these  we  have  told — that 
of  the  boy  who  fired  at  her  in  1840.  In  1842  she  was  fired  at  by  a 
man  named  John  Francis,  who  was  sent  to  prison  for  life.  Another 
attempt  to  frighten  or  injure  her  was  made  by  a  hunchbacked  lad 
named  Bean,  who  was  sentenced  to  a  long  imprisonment. 

That  these  attacks  only  sprang  from  a  crazy  desire  for  noto- 
riety was  recognized  by  the  Queen  herself,  who  observed  that  they 
would  be  repeated  so  long  as  the  law  invested  them  with  the  dig- 
nity of  high  treason.  The  result  proved  the  wisdom  of  this  remark, 
for  when  such  offenses  were  made  punishable  by  transportation, 
together  with  a  whipping,  Her  Majesty  was  not  molested  by  fanatics 
and  mountebanks  for  seven  years.  Then,  on  July  19,  1849,  an  Irish 
bricklayer  named  Hamilton  fired  at  her  a  pistol  loaded  with  powder 
only.  As  usual,  the  Queen  was  perfectly  self-possessed.  She  stood 
up,  bade  the  coachman  drive  on,  and  began  to  talk  energetically 
to  her  children,  to  divert  their  attention.  The  man  was  sentenced 
to  the  same  punishment  as  the  hunchback  Bean. 

In  June,  1850,  Her  Majesty  was  the  victim  of  an  outrage  of 
another  kind.  She  was  returning  from  a  visit  to  her  uncle,  the 
Duke  of  Cambridge,  who  was  dying.  As  her  carriage  passed  out 
of  the  gateway  of  Cambridge  House,  a  gentlemanly  looking  man 
named  Pates,  who  had  been  a  captain  of  hussars,  rushed  forward, 
and  struck  the  Queen  on  the  face  with  a  small  stick,  inflicting  a 

313 


A  SERIES  OF  PASSING  INCIDENTS 

wound  which,  although  severe,   did  not  prevent  her  going  to  the 
opera  next  evening. 

Not  until  1872  was  there  any  further  attack.  In  February 
of  that  year,  as  the  Queen  was  alighting  from  her  carriage,  an  Irish 
lad,  Arthur  O'Connor,  to  whom  we  have  previously  referred,  rushed 
forward  with  a  pistol  in  one  hand  and  a  paper  containing  some 
petition  in  the  other.  He  was  promptly  seized  by  John  Brown,  one 
of  the  attendants.  O'Connor  was  found  to  be  insane  ;  as  was  also 
Roger  Maclean,  who  in  1882  fired  at  Her  Majesty  as  she  was 
entering  her  carriage  at  Windsor  station.  These  later  assailants, 
like  the  first,  were  pronounced  insane  and  confined  in  mad-houses. 

LITTLE    GIRL    WRITES    LETTER   TO    THE    QUEEN 

The  following  child's  letter,  received  by  Her  Majesty  the  morn- 
ing after  the  last-mentioned  attempt,  well  illustrates  the  feeling 
of  the  nation  : 

"My  Dear  Queen :  My  papa  has  just  come  home  and  said 
that  some  bad  man  has  tried  to  shoot  you.  What  a  wicked  man  he 
must  be  to  want  to  shoot  such  a  good  Queen  !  I  hope  he  will 
be  punished  for  it.  Papa  says  he  must  be  mad,  and  I  think  that  he 
must  be  the  maddest  man  that  ever  lived.  I  am  so  glad  that  you 
have  not  been  hurt,  and  so  are  papa  and  mama.  Good-night,  and 
may  God  bless  you. 

"  (Signed)     EDITH  E.  ELLIOTT. 

"  67,  Bennerley  Road,  Wandsworth  Common." 

A  gracious  letter  of  thanks  was  sent  to  the  child. 

The  Queen,  as  we  have  already  told,  made  escapes  of  a  different 
kind  during  her  early  years,  one  being  her  narrow  escape  from  death 
on  board  her  yacht. 

Forty-two  years  after  this,  when  Her  Majesty  was  crossing  over 
from  Osborne  to  Gosport,  the  yacht  Mistletoe  collided  with  the 
royal  yacht.  The  Mistletoe  was  sunk,  with  the  result  that  the  sister- 
in-law  of  the  owner  and  an  old  man  perished.  Her  Majesty,  who 
was  on  deck  at  the  time,  was  much  distressed. 


A  SEXfES  OF  PASSING  INCIDENTS  3*5 

Shortly  after  coming  to  the  throne  the  Queen  and  her  mother 
were  out  driving,  when  the  horses  took  fright  and  bolted.  A  pub- 
lican bravely  ran  into  the  road  and  stopped  them  near  Highgate 
Hill.  He  was  graciously  thanked,  and  being  asked  to  name  his 
reward,  he  said  :  "  Permission  to  put  the  Queen's  arms  on  my  sign." 
It  was  granted,  and  next  day  a  pocket-book  was  sent  him,  concern- 
ing which,  when  asked  by  his  friends,  he  simply  said  :  "  Heavy,  very 
heavy." 

There  were  other  escapes  besides  this,  including  a  carriage 
accident  in  Scotland  and  a  railway  accident  in  1851,  but  the  Queen 
came  through  them  all  unharmed. 

A  good  deal  of  amusement,  accompanied  by  not  a  little  annoy- 
ance, was  caused  by  the  proceedings  of  a  boy  who  soon  became 
known  as  "  the  boy  Jones."  This  lad  found  his  way  again  and 
again  into  Buckingham  Palace,  secreting  himself  in  the  chimneys 
and  so  forth  during  the  day,  and  emerging  at  night.  He  seems 
to  have  had  no  intention  of  robbery  or  violence,  but  merely  wanted 
to  be  in  the  Queen's  presence  ;  and  he  boasted  he  had  repeatedly 
listened  to  conversations  between  Her  Majesty  and  Prince  Albert. 
He  was  caught  and  searched,  but  nothing  of  a  dangerous  character 
was  found  upon  him.  In  his  examination  before  a  magistrate  he 
said  he  had  entered  the  palace  only  to  gratify  his  curiosity  and 
learn  how  royal  people  and  "  great  swells,"  like  royal  footmen, 
lived.  His  examination  caused  much  amusement,  he  boasting  that 
he  had  spent  whole  days  in  the  palace;  in  fact,  had  "put  up" 
there.  He  added  :  "  And  a  very  comfortable  place  I  found  it.  I 
used  to  hide  behind  the  furniture  and  up  the  chimneys  in  the  day- 
time ;  when  night  came  I  walked  about,  went  into  the  kitchen  and 
got  my  food.  I  have  seen  the  Queen  and  her  ministers  in  council, 
and  heard  all  they  had  to  say.  ...  I  know  my  way  all  over 
the  palace,  and  have  been  all  over  it,  the  Queen's  apartment  and 
all.  The  Queen  is  very  fond  of  politics." 

He  was  so  jolly  and  impudent  a  vagabond,  and  so  young,  that 
he  was  let  off  with  a  light  punishment.  He  made  his  way  again 


316  A  SERIES  OF  PASSING  INCIDENTS 

into  the  palace,  and  this  time  said  he  had  heard  a  long  conversation 
between  the  Queen  and  Prince  Albert  while  lying  under  a  sofa  in 
one  of  her  private  apartments.  Finally,  as  he  seemed  incorrigible 
in  his  mania  for  entering  the  palace,  he  was  sent  to  sea  and  induced 
to  go  to  Australia,  where  he  became  a  well-to-do  colonist.  The  ease 
with  which  he  entered  and  made  his  way  about  the  royal  mansion 
speaks  poorly  for  the  watchfulness  of  the  household  at  that  period. 
It  led  to  more  care  being  taken  to  prevent  intrusion. 

QUEEN    SENDS    HELP   TO    STARVING    IRELAND 

During  the  autumn  of  1848  famine  and  disease  raged  in  Ireland, 
while  England  and  Scotland  did  not  altogether  escape.  The  Queen 
felt  deeply  for  her  people  ;  wrote  a  pleading  for  help  ;  sent  all  she 
could,  and  reduced  the  palace  expenses  in  every  possible  way  in 
order  to  aid  the  starving  Irish.  How  England  responded  to  her 
appeal  and  example  history  records.  It  is  stated  that  the  gaieties 
of  the  London  season  ceased,  and  every  one  contributed  all  they 
could.  The  Queen's  letter  alone  resulted  in  ,£171,533. 

"At  last,"  says  Sir  Charles  Trevelyan,  "  the  famine  was  stayed. 
The  affecting  and  heart-rending  crowds  of  destitutes  disappeared 
from  the  streets  ;  the  cadaverous,  hunger-stricken  countenances  of 
the  people  gave  place  to  looks  of  health  ;  deaths  from  starvation 
ceased  ;  and  cattle-stealing,  the  plunder  of  provisions,  and  other 
crimes  prompted  by  want  of  food  were  diminished  by  one-half  in 
the  course  of  a  single  month.  It  was  one  of  the  noblest  and 
grandest  attempts  ever  made  to  battle  with  a  national  calamity. 
Organized  armies,  amounting  altogether  to  some  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands, had  been  rationed  before,  but  neither  ancient  nor  modern 
history  can  furnish  a  parallel  to  the  fact  that  upward  of  three  millions 
of  persons  were  fed  every  day  in  the  neighborhood  of  their  own 
homes  by  administrative  arrangements  emanating  from  and  con- 
trolled by  one  central  office." 

During  this  memorable  time  of  sorrow  our  good  Queen  was 
found  in  the  forefront  of  those  who  sought  to  mitigate  the  woes  and 


A  SERIES  OF  PASSING  INCIDENTS  3*7 

horrors  of  famine  and  distress.  This  intense  practical  sympathy 
with  suffering  had  ever  been  eminently  characteristic  of  Queen 
Victoria. 

On  the  25th  of  January,  1858,  the  Princess  Royal  was  married 
to  Prince  Frederick  William  of  Prussia,  afterward  the  Crown  Prince 
of  Germany.  For  days  before,  the  ceremony  had  been  the  common 
topic  of  conversation  in  society.  The  Princess  was  very  popular, 
and  the  many  splendid  gifts  she  received  were  some  slight  evidence 
of  this  popularity.  The  marriage  was  celebrated  in  the  Chapel 
Royal  of  St.  James,  and  all  the  members  of  the  royal  family  were 
present,  besides  many  other  illustrious  and  noble  guests.  Follow- 
ing the  wedding  ceremony  were  numerous  elaborate  receptions, 
after  which  the  bride  and  bridegroom  left  for  Windsor,  where  they 
were  to  spend  the  honeymoon. 

The  day  was  observed  as  a  general  holiday  throughout  the 
United  Kingdom,  and  in  the  evening  London  was  brilliantly  illumi- 
nated. Only  two  days  after  the  marriage  the  court  removed  to 
Windsor,  and  Her  Majesty  created  her  royal  son-in-law  a  Knight  of 
the  Order  of  the  Garter.  On  the  twenty-ninth,  the  court  and  the 
newly  married  couple  returned  to  Buckingham  Palace.  In  the 
evening  a  state  visit  was  paid  to  Her  Majesty's  Theater,  when 
"The  Rivals"  and  "The  Spitalfields'  Weaver"  were  performed. 
Addresses  of  congratulation  poured  in  upon  the  bride  and  bride- 
groom. 

The  first  grandchild  of  the  Queen  was  born  at  Berlin,  on  the 
27th  of  January,  1859.  The  infant  Prince's  mother  was  then  only 
nineteen  years  of  age,  and  his  grandmother  only  forty.  At  his 
christening  the  child  had  forty-two  godfathers  and  godmothers. 
This  infant  became  William  II.,  the  all-potent  Emperor  of  Germany. 

These  days  of  joy  were  followed  by  days  of  deep  sorrow  for  the 
Queen,  over  whose  head  heavy  trials  were  impending.  The 
Duchess  of  Kent,  then  in  her  seventy-sixth  year,  was  showing 
alarming  symptoms  of  breaking  health. 

On  the  1 5th  of  March,    1861  "resting  quite  happily  in  her  arm- 

18 


3i8  A  SERIES  OF  PASSING  INCIDENTS 

chair,"  the  Duchess  was  seized  with  a  shivering  fit,  from  which 
serious  consequences  were  apprehended.  The  Queen,  the  Prince 
Consort,  and  Princess  Alice  left  Buckingham  Palace  immediately  on 
receiving  the  information,  and  reached  FYogmore  in  two  hours, 
which  seemed  to  her  Majesty  like  an  age.  The  Prince  Consort  first 
went  up  to  see  the  Duchess,  and  when  he  returned  with  tears  in  his 
eyes,  the  Queen  knew  what  to  expect.  She  went  up  the  staircase 
with  a  trembling  heart  and  entered  her  mother's  room.  The 
Queen  writes  thus  in  her  diary:  "I  asked  the  doctors  if  there  was 
no  hope.  They  said  they  feared  none  whatever,  for  consciousness 
had  left  her." 

DEATH    OF    THE    QUEEN'S    MOTHER 

The  Queen  remained  through  the  night  by  the  side  of  the  un- 
conscious sufferer.  In  the  morning  her  husband  took  her  away  for 
a  short  time,  but  she  soon  returned  to  her  vigils.  Holding  the 
Duchess'  hand,  she  sat  down  on  a  footstool  and  awaited  the  issue. 
"I  fell  on  my  knees,"  subsequently  wrote  her  Majesty,  "holding 
the  beloved  hand,  which  was  still  warm  and  soft,  though  heavier, 
in  both  of  mine.  I  felt  the  end  was  fast  approaching,  as  Clark 
went  out  to  call  Albert  and  Alice,  I  only  left  gazing  on  that  beloved 
face,  and  feeling  as  if  my  heart  would  break.  ...  It  was  a 
solemn,  sacred,  never-to-be-forgotten  scene.  Fainter  and  fainter 
grew  the  breathing ;  at  last  it  ceased,  but  there  was  no  change 
of  countenance — nothing  ;  the  eyes  closed  as  they  had  been  for 
the  last  half-hour.  .  .  .  The  clock  struck  half-past  nine  at  the 
very  moment.  Convulsed  with  sobs,  I  fell  on  the  hand  and  covered 
it  with  kisses.  Albert  lifted  me  up  and  took  me  into  the  next 
room— himself  entirely  melted  into  tears,  which  is  unusual  for  him 
— and  clasped  me  in  his  arms.  I  asked  if  all  was  over ;  he  said 
1  Yes.'  I  went  into  the  room  again,  after  a  few  minutes,  and  gave 
one  look.  My  darling  mother  was  sitting  as  she  had  done  before, 
but  was  already  white.  O  God  !  how  awful !  how  mysterious ! 
But  what  a  blessed  end — her  gentle  spirit  at  rest,  her  sufferings 
over." 


We  have  spoken  of  trials.  A  still  heavier  one  than  the  loss  of 
her  mother  was  then  impending  over  the  Queen — the  death  of  the 
Prince  Consort,  which  has  been  made  the  subject  of  a  preceding 
chapter. 

In  1863  came  a  diversion  to  the  deep  grief  of  the  orphaned  and 
widowed  monarch  in  the  marriage  of  her  eldest  son,  the  Prince  of 
Wales.  This  coming  event  was  announced  to  the  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment on  February  19,  1863.  The  chosen  bride  was  the  Princess 
Alexandra,  daughter  of  Kin«-  Christian  of  Denmark,  a  maiden  of 

O  £> 

unusual  personal  charms  and  of  great  loveliness  of  character.  She 
had  visited  England  in  her  youth,  staying  with  her  grandaunt,  the 
Duchess- of  Cambridge,  and  it  is  said  that  the  Prince  of  Wales  fell 
in  love  with  a  miniature  portrait  of  the  Princess  which  he  saw  at  the 
house  of  this  Duchess,  and  intrusted  to  a  confidential  friend  the  task 
of  repairing  to  Copenhagen  to  see  her  and  to  bring  back  a  reliable 
report  of  her  personality.  Subsequently  an  informal  meeting  took 
place  between  the  Princess  and  Prince,  concerning  which  the  suspi- 
cion has  existed  that  it  was  prearranged  by  the  latter.  At  all  events, 
when  the  Prince  was  traveling  abroad,  in  1861,  he  went  with  his 
attendants  one  day  to  see  the  famous  cathedral  of  Worms,  and  there 
met  Prince  Christian  and  the  blue-eyed  Alexandra,  also  sight-seeing. 
Again,  while  staying  at  Heidelberg,  the  Prince  encountered  her,  and 
his  father,  the  Prince  Consort,  recorded  in  his  diary :  "  We  hear 
nothing  but  excellent  accounts  of  the  Princess  Alexandra  ;  the  young 
people  have  evidently  taken  a  warm  liking  to  each  other." 

ENGLAND'S  FUTURE  QUEEN  CONSORT 

The  early  years  of  the  Princess  had  been  spent  in  the  simplest 
and  most  wholesome  manner.  At  the  time  of  her  birth  her  father, 
Prince  Christian,  had  no  expectation  of  ever  succeeding  to  the 
throne  of  Denmark,  for  he  belonged  to  a  younger  branch  of  the 
house  of  Oldenburg.  His  income  was  small  for  the  maintenance 
of  a  family  numbering  five  children,  but  he  was  cast  in  an  intel- 
lectual mold;  as  was  his  wife,  and  the  two  supplemented  whatever 


was  lacking  in  the  instruction  furnished  by  teachers  who  came  to 
Gule  daily,  for  the  services  of  resident  tutors  and  governesses  were 
pecuniarily  beyond  reach. 

The  Princess  Christian  was  a  wise  and  careful  mother.  Her 
daughters  she  taught  the  arts  of  dressmaking  and  millinery,  so  that 
they  could  manufacture  their  own  wardrobes,  and  household  tasks 
of  all  kinds  formed  part  of  their  education.  Princess  Alexandra 
remarked  herself  in  later  years:  "We  were  made  to  learn  when  we 
were  children  ;  our  parents  told  us  it  was  necessary."  She  herself, 
though  not  especially  studious,  inherited  the  maternal  talent  for 
music  and  embroidery;  in  fact,  in  all  gentle  and  feminine  arts  she 
seemed  to  excel.  She  was  early  pronounced  the  beauty  of  the 
family. 

Prince  Christian  had,  from  his  thirteenth  year,  been  the  adopted 
son  of  the  reigning  monarch  of  Denmark,  King  Christian  VIII.,  and 
his  prospects  were  considerably  altered  upon  the  death  of  the  latter 
in  the  year  1852.  Frederick  VII.  then  came  to  the  throne,  and 
Prince  Christian  was  formally  constituted  heir  to  the  monarchy. 
No  increase  of  income  accompanied  these  increased  honors,  how- 
ever, and  extreme  simplicity  still  characterized  the  life  of  his  family. 
The  only  change  of  moment  was  that  of  removal  from  Gule  to  the 
chateau  of  Bernstorff,  which  the  nation  purchased  and  presented  to 
him. 

ALEXANDRA'S  WHOLESOME  EARLY  TRAINING 

The  annals  of  childhood  in  the  case  of  Princess  Alexandra  con- 
tain no  striking  incidents.  Life  at  Bernstorff  was  much  more  delight- 
ful than  at  Gule.  It  is  narrated  how  she  and  her  brothers  rejoiced 
with  natural,  childlike  joy  over  the  country  pleasures  now  theirs,  and 
how  they  "roamed  the  woods  gathering  wild  flowers,  swinging  on 
the  branches  of  great  trees  in  the  adjacent  forests,  cantering  along 
the  country  roads  on  their  ponies,  and  tending  their  pet  animals." 
Untrammeled  by  forms  and  ceremonies  of  station,  surrounded  by 
the  love  of  good  and  wise  parents,  their  lot  was  more  enviable  than 
they,  perhaps,  could  appreciate.  Stories  are  multiplied  of  how,  on 


A  SERIES  OF  PASSING  INCIDENTS  323 

Sunday,  they  would  accompany  their  parents  on  foot  to  the  little 
church  of  Gjentofie,  where  the  villagers  of  the  neighborhood  wor- 
shiped, and  of  how  Alexandra  and  her  sisters  visited  among  the 
peasants,  carrying  comforts  to  the  needy  and  words  of  sympathy  to 
the  sick  or  unhappy.  These  charities  were  the  result  of  some  self- 
sacrifice,  doubtless,  for,  as  his  children  grew  older,  the  modest 
resources  of  the  Prince  compelled  economy  in  the  household. 

Rosa  Carey  tells  a  story  of  how  three  young  princesses  sat  in 
a  beautiful  old  wood,  once  upon  a  time,  talking  "  in  naive  girlish 
fashion  "  of  the  future. 

"I  should  like,"  said  one  princess,  who  was  very  lively  and 
vivacious,  "to  have  all  the  bost  things  the  world  can  give,  so  that  I 
could  do  much  good." 

"I,"  observed  a  younger  princess,  "should  like  to  be  very 
clever  and  wise  and  good." 

"  And  I,"  observed  the  third  princess,  thoughtfully,  "should  like 
best  to  be  loved." 

The  truth  of  the  story  can  not  be  vouched  for,  but  it  is  said 
that  these  three  princesses  were  Dagmar,  Thyra,  and  Alexandra  of 
Denmark,  and  that  she  who  spoke  last  realized  her  ambition  by 
going  to  England  as  Princess  of  Wales,  and  earning  the  title 
"Queen  of  Hearts." 

And,  indeed,  the  life-story  of  Queen  Alexandra,  so  long  beloved 
as  Princess  of  Wales,  reads  like  a  tale  of  enchantment.  Born  to 
modest  fortunes,  no  more  simple  and  retiring  existence  could  be 
imagined  than  that  which  she  led  in  the  Gule  Palace  and  the  chateau 
of  Bernstorff.  The  former  of  these  homes,  where  her  earliest 
years  were  spent,  is  described  as  being  in  no  sense  a  palace,  but 
merely  a  comfortable  dwelling,  containing  pleasantly  furnished  rooms 
set  around  a  dull  and  gloomy  courtyard. 

The  accession  of  the  father  of  Alexandra  to  the  throne  of  Den- 
mark, and  the  chance  discovery  of  her  miniature  by  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  if  this  part  of  the  story  can  be  accepted,  vastly  changed  the 
fortunes  of  the  simply  reared  maiden. 


324  A  SERIES  OF  PASSING  INCIDENTS 

We  have  spoken  of  two  interviews  of  the  Prince  and  Princess. 
At  a  third,  held  at  the  countryseat  of  King  Leopold  in  1862,  the 
Prince  declared  his  love  and  the  Princess  accepted  his  suit.  The 
youthful  pair  were  betrothed,  though  the  fact  was  not  made  known 
to  the  world  for  months  afterward. 

The  engagement  was  of  six  months'  duration,  and  the  prepara- 
tions for  the  nuptial  ceremony  were  gorgeous  in  the  extreme.  It  is 
said  that  the  Princess  took  much  pleasure  in  the  elaboration  of  her 
trousseau,  confiding  to  an  intimate  friend  that  "it  cost  twice  as  much 
as  her  father's  income  for  a  whole  year."  One  hundred  thousand 
kroners,  contributed  by  the  Danes,  were  presented  to  her  as  the 
"  people's  dowry,"  whereupon  the  Princess  made  six  dowerless 
Danish  brides  happy  by  ordering  the  division  among  them  of  6000 
thalers.  King  Leopold  of  Belgium  presented  her  wedding  dress, 
wrought  out  of  Brussels  lace.  Splendid  and  numerous  were  the 
gifts  showered  upon  the  bride-elect,  and  the  poor  people  among 
whom  she  had  lived  and  moved,  and  had  tended,  and  whose  utmost 
devotion  was  hers,  also  had  their  offering  to  bring.  A  deputation  of 
villagers,  led  by  the  worthy  pastor  of  the  little  church  where  she  had 
so  often  worshiped,  presented  to  her  a  pair  of  porcelain  vases.  The 
Princess  was  so  much  touched  that  tears  choked  the  utterance  of 
her  thanks. 

And  so  the  day  came  when,  with  fluttering  pennons,  throbbing 
hearts,  love  outpoured,  the  people  of  England  welcomed  the  Sea 
King's  daughter.  Many  times  it  has  been  told  how  the  waiting 
thousands  shouted  as  with  one  voice,  "Alexandra  !  God  bless  her  !" 
and  how  her  youthful  grace  and  personality  magnetized  all  eyes  and 
conquered  all  hearts.  It  is  said  that  the  crowds  in  the  London 
streets  were  so  great  that  six  women  were  crushed  to  death.  Two 
days  later,  March  loth,  the  Prince  of  Wales  wedded  Alexandra  of 
Denmark  in  St.  George's  Chapel,  in  which  no  royal  marriage  had 
been  celebrated  since  that  of  Henry  I.,  in  the  year  1142. 

At  once  the  whole  United  Kingdom  seemed  to  emerge  from  the 
gloom  and  sadness  into  which  it  had  been  plunged  for  two  years. 


A  SERIES  OF  PASSING  INCIDENTS 


325 


Mourning  was  at  an  end  ;  illuminations,  rejoicings,  gladness  of  heart 
were  everywhere.  The  presents  were  wonderful  for  their  richness  ; 
so  much  so  that  a  room  was  opened  at  Kensington  for  their  special 
exhibition.  As  a  fitting  tribute,  significant  of  the  national  feeling, 
we  append  the  beautiful  poem  written  by  Tennyson,  then  poet 

laureate : 

Sea  King's  daughter  from  over  the  sea, 

Alexandra ! 

Saxon  and  Norman  and  Dane  are  we, 
But  all  of  us  Danes  in  our  welcome  to  thee, 

Alexandra ! 

Welcome  her  thunders  of  fort  and  fleet ! 
Welcome  her  thundering  cheers  of  the  street ! 
Welcome  her  all  things  useful  and  sweet, 
Scatter  the  blossoms  under  her  feet ! 
Break,  happy  land,  into  earlier  flowers  ! 
Make  music,  O  bird,  in  the  new  budded  bowers ! 
Blazon  your  mottos  of  blessing  and  prayer  ! 
Welcome  her,  welcome  her,  all  that  is  ours  ! 
Warble,  O  bugle,  and  trumpet,  blare  ! 
Flags  flutter  out  upon  turrets  and  towers  ! 
Flames  on  the  windy  headland  flare  ! 
Utter  your  jubilee,  steeple  and  spire  ! 
Clash,  ye  bells,  in  the  merry  March  air. 
Flash,  ye  cities,  in  rivers  of  fire  ! 
Rush  to  the  roof,  sudden  rocket,  and  higher 
Melt  into  stars  for  the  land's  desire  ! 
Roll  and  rejoice,  jubilant  voice, 
Roll  as  a  ground  swell  dash'd  on  the  strand  ; 
Roar  as  the  sea  when  he  welcomes  the  land  ; 
And  welcome  her,  welcome  the  land's  desire, 
The  Sea  King's  daughter,  as  happy,  as  fair, 
Blissful  bride  of  a  blissful  heir — 
Bride  of  the  heir  of  the  king  of  the  sea  ! 
O  joy  to  the  people  and  joy  to  the  throne  ; 
Come  to  us,  love  us,  and  make  us  your  own  ; 
For  Saxon  or  Dane  or  Norman  we, 
Teuton  or  Celt,  or  whatever  we  be, 
We  are  each  all  Dane  in  our  welcome  to  thee, 

Alexandra  ! 


326  A  SERIES  OF  PASSING  INCIDENTS 

It  was  a  fitting  tribute  to  a  woman  who  has  proved  herself  at 
once  good  and  noble.  Her  devotedness  as  wife  and  mother,  the 
charities  and  domestic  sweetness  of  her  private  life  at  Sandringham, 
the  charm  of  her  manners  and  beauty  when  seen  at  public  functions, 
made  her  dearer  to  the  people  with  each  year  of  her  residence  in 
England,  and  the  British  nation  has  great  cause  for  thanksgiving 
that  Queen  Victoria  has  such  a  noble  and  worthy  successor  in  Queen 
Alexandra. 

In  1875  the  Prince  visited  India,  and  received  an  ovation  in  that 
oriental  land  which   reads   like  one  of  the   tales   of  the   "  Arabian 
Nights."     On   May   ist  of  the   following  year  Victoria,  Queen  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  was  proclaimed  Empress  of  India,  as  al- 
ready stated. 

DEATH    OF    PRINCESS    ALICE 

On  December  14,  1878,  the  anniversary  of  the  Prince  Consort's 
death,  his  beloved  daughter  and  faithful  nurse,  the  Princess  Alice, 
died — and  died,  it  will  be  remembered,  a  martyr  to  her  love  for  her 
children.  The  little  ones  and  her  husband  had  been  suffering  from 
diphtheria.  One  died,  and  it  seems  that  the  eldest  boy,  in  sym- 
pathizing with  his  mother,  impulsively  threw  his  arms  around  her  and 
kissed  her.  It  was  the  kiss  of  death.  She  caught  the  disease,  and, 
worn  out  with  anxiety  and  watching,  she  could  not  resist,  but  after  a 
few  days'  illness  passed  away. 

Since  the  death  of  the  Prince  Consort,  seventeen  years  before, 
nothing  had  so  stirred  the  deepest  sympathies  of  the  nation,  for  the 
Princess  was  warmly  loved.  For  a  time  the  Queen  seemed  utterly 
overwhelmed  by  the  loss  of  her  tenderly  affectionate  daughter. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

The  Year  of  Jubilee 

IN  the  year  1887  came  a  great  occasion  in  the  life  of  England's 
beloved  Queen,  that  of'the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  her  reign,  a  year 
of  holiday  and  festivity  which  was  celebrated  in  all  quarters  of 
the  earth.      India  led  the  way,  rejoicings  being  general  throughout 
her  vast  area,  from  the  snowy  passes  of  the  lofty  Himalayas  on  the 
north,  to  the  tropical  shores  of  Cape  Comorin  on  the  south.     Other 
colonies  fell  into  line,  the  large-hearted  and  loyal  Canadians  vicing 
with  the  sun-burned  Africanders  of  Cape  Town  and  Natal,  the  mer- 
chants of  the  West  Indies  with  the  planters  of  the  East  Indies,  in 
celebrating  worthily  the  Jubilee  of   Britain's  Queen. 

THREE    ROYAL  JUBILEES 

England  has  known,  in  earlier  times,  three  Royal  Jubilees — 
those  of  Henry  III.,  Edward  III.,  and  George  III.  All  of  these 
sovereigns  reigned  over  fifty  years,  and  it  is  a  curious  coincidence 
they  should  all  have  been  III.  of  the  title.  A  few  lines  may  be 
devoted  to  the  circumstances  of  these  Royal  Jubilees,  which  will 
make  it  clear  that  Victoria's  Jubilee  was  brightest  of  all. 

The  reign  of  Henry  III.  was  one  of  considerable  progress. 
During  its  course,  trial  by  jury  was  introduced,  and  in  the  Jubilee  year 
(1265),  the  first  real  English  Parliament  was  summoned  by  Simon 
de  Montfort,  Earl  of  Leicester.  The  year  closed,  however,  sadly. 
The  turmoil  of  civil  war,  and  the  heavy  losses  of  the  bloody  battle 
of  Evesham,  made  the  hearts  of  men  heavy  and  sore,  and  they  were 
in  little  humor  for  Jubilee  rejoicings. 

The  next  Jubilee  came  in  1376,  when  Edward  III.  entered  on 
the  fiftieth  year  of  his  reign.  In  many  respects,  it  had  been  a 

327 


328  THE  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE 

glorious  and  prosperous  period.     The  terrors  of  the  "black  death, 
which  had  swept  the  land  some  twenty  years  previously,  were  for- 
gotten, and  men  were  ready  to  rejoice  to  the  full.     Hence  history 


THE  QUEEN  SELECTING  CHRISTMAS  PRESENTS 

speaks  of  tournaments,  processions,  high  feastings,  street  pageants. 
But  alas  !  in  that  very  year  "  the  Black  Prince  "  died,  and  the  nation 


THE  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE  329 

sorely  mourned  its  most  brilliant  hero  of  chivalry.  And  before  the 
year's  close,  disorder  and  disunion  were  rampart,  and  civil  war  was 
threatened,  so  that  Edward's  Jubilee  came  to  as  dark  and  cloudy 
an  end  as  that  of  Henry,  a  century  before. 

Nearly  five  centuries  elapsed  before  there  came  another  year  of 
Royal  Jubilee.  In  1810  George  III.  reached  the  fiftieth  year  of 
his  reign,  and  widespread  festivities  took  place.  It  was  not 
through  any  particular  admiration  for  the  King,  but  through  the 
general  enjoyment  of  the  true  Anglo-Saxon  in  a  period  of  holiday 
and  entertainment.  The  Jubilee  was  held  in  great  style,  and  we 
read  of  state  banquets,  grand  reviews,  balls,  general  illuminations, 
free  open-air  feasts,  in  which  bullocks  were  roasted  whole ; 
deserters  from  the  army  and  navy  were  pardoned,  foreign  prisoners 
of  war  set  free,  and  a  great  national  subscription  made  for  the 
release  of  poor  debtors.  Yet  the  country  was  then  in  the  throes 
of  its  gigantic  struggle  with  Napoleon  ;  the  King,  always  a  man 
of  weak  intellect  and  feeble  health,  was  then  bereft  of  reason,  the 
Prince  of  Wales  being  appointed  Regent,  and  the  people's  best 
reason  for  rejoicing  was  that  their  King's  inglorious  career  was 
approaching  its  end. 

Brightest  and  best  of  all  the  years  of  Jubilee  was  that  which 
dawned  at  the  end  of  the  Victorian  half-century.  This  period  had 
been  one  of  remarkable  progress  in  every  field  of  human  endeavor. 
It  had  been  free  from  blighting  pestilence,  disastrous  wars,  deso- 
lating famine,  or  any  of  the  horrors  which  came  upon  England  in 
the  reigns  of  many  of  her  former  sovereigns.  And  looking  back 
on  the  story  of  the  fifty  years  since  the  well-loved  Victoria  ascended 
the  throne,  the  hearts  of  all  her  subjects  were  filled  with  thankful- 
ness that  God  should  have  placed  the  sceptre  of  the  empire  in  the 
hands  of  one  who  had  swayed  it  so  long  and  well.  Thus  were  they 
prepared  to  hold  high  jubilee  ;  to  express  that  heartfelt  and  hearty 
affection  and  loyalty  which  burned  no  less  brightly  for  their 
widowed  Sovereign  than  for  her  when,  fifty  years  before,  a  blush- 
ing maiden,  she  was  hailed  as  England's  Queen. 


330  THE  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE 

The  first  note  of  the  Jubilee  was  struck  in  India,  where  the 
great  Imperial  festival  was  celebrated  on  the  sixteenth  of  Febru- 
ary. In  presidency  towns,  inland  cities,  the  capitals  of  Protected 
States — even  in  Mandalay,  the  capital  of  the  newly-conquered 
State  of  Upper  Burmah — natives  and  Europeans  vied  with  each 
other  in  acclaiming  the  event.  Announcements  of  clemency, 
banquets,  plays,  the  distribution  of  honors,  reviews,  illuminations — 
all  were  among  the  methods  adopted  for  celebrating  the  Jubilee. 
But  these  were  not  the  only  methods.  At  Gwalior  all  arrears 
of  land-tax,  amounting  to  five  million  dollars,  were  canceled. 
Libraries,  colleges  schools  and  hospitals  were  opened  in  honor  of 
the  Empress. 

THE    FIFTIETH    YEAR    OF    HER    REIGN 

All  over  England  preparations  were  now  being  made  for  the 
great  anniversary.  The  Queen  would  complete  the  fiftieth  year  of 
her  reign  on  the  twentieth  of  June,  and  the  entire  first  six  months 
of  the  year  were  a  series  of  preliminary  ceremonies  for  the  climax 
of  the  great  celebration.  On  the  twelfth  of  January  occurred  a 
meeting  for  the  starting  of  the  Imperial  Institute,  which  was  the 
development  of  the  Colonial  and  Indian  Exhibition  into  a  perma- 
nent exhibit,  for  the  display  of  the  whole  vast  resources  of  the 
Empire.  The  meeting  was  held  at  St.  James'  Palace  and  presided 
over  by  the  Prince  of  Wales.  It  was  by  such  movements  as  these 
that  the  Queen  most  liked  to  be  honored. 

On  the  23d  of  March  her  Majesty  visited  Birmingham.  The 
city  was  ready  to  receive  her.  Five  miles  of  streets  had  been 
superbly  decorated  with  flags  and  festoons  and  banks  of  flowers, 
triumphal  arches,  and  trophies  emblematic  of  the  industries  and 
inventions  of  the  great  midland  metropolis.  In  spite  of  cold  and 
very  boisterous  weather,  the  Queen  set  out  from  Windsor  at  the 
appointed  hour.  When  the  royal  party  reached  Birmingham,  how- 
ever, the  sun  had  come  out,  and  lent  its  brightness  to  the  day  for 
the  multitude  of  half  a  million  people  who  thronged  the  streets 
of  the  city.  Mr.  J.  Castell  Hopkins  thus  describes  the  scene: 


(/REAT  IRISH  LEADERS  OF  QUEEH  VICTORIAS  REIGN 


THE  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE  333 

"  A  very  striking  feature  of  the  reception  was  a  semicircle  of 
fifteen  thousand  school-children,  a  mile  long,  with  the  teachers 
standing  behind  each  school,  and  the  groups  keeping  up  all  along 
the  line  a  continuous  strain  of  '  God  Save  the  Queen.'  At  the 
town  hall  an  address  was  presented  by  the  corporation,  and  a  reply 
read  by  her  Majesty,  which  concluded  with  these  words  :  '  During 
the  long  and  eventful  period,  now  extending  over  fifty  years, 
through  which  my  reign  has  continued,  the  loyalty  and  affection  of 
my  faithful  people  have  been  a  constant  source  of  support  in  diffi- 
culty and  sorrow,  and  consolation  in  affliction." 

After  luncheon,  the  Queen  laid  the  foundation  of  the  future 
Law  Courts  amid  the  usual  ceremonials. 

On  the  23d  of  April,  by  the  special  sanction  of  the  Pope,  she 
was  allowed  to  visit  the  Monastery  of  the  Grande  Chartreuse, 
within  whose  sacred  precincts  no  woman's  foot  is  permitted  to 
tread.  On  the  4th  of  May  she  received  at  Windsor  Castle  the 
representatives  of  the  Colonial  Governments,  who  presented  her 
with  addresses  congratulating  her  on  having  witnessed  during  hei 
reign  her  Colonial  subjects  increase  from  fewer  than  2,000,000  to 
upwards  of  9,000,000  souls,  her  Indian  subjects  from  96,000,000  to 
254,000,000,  and  her  subjects  in  minor  dependencies  from  2,000,000 
to  7,000,000. 

The  celebrations  now  •  commenced  in  earnest.  A  Jubilee 
Exhibition,  illustrating  the  progress  in  arts  and  manufactures 
during  the  Victorian  era,  was  held  at  Manchester,  and  opened  by 
the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales.  On  the  gth  of  May  a  large 
deputation  representing  the  Corporation  of  London  waited  on  the 
Queen  at  Buckingham  Palace,  and  presented  a  loyal  address  of 
congratulation.  In  her  reply  she  referred  to  "the  sympathy  which 
has  united  the  Throne  and  the  people,"  and  to  her  hope  that  this 
cordial  feeling  would  always  continue  unbroken.  On  the  following 
day  a  most  brilliant  drawing-room  was  held,  and  a  private  visit 
made  to  Westminster  Abbey  in  connection  with  the  approaching 
Jubilee  Service.  She  also  attended  a  private  performance  of  the 


334  THE  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE 

feats  of  the  American  cow-boys,  Indians,  and  prairie-hunters  at  the 
"Wild  West  Show."  On  the  i4th  she  opened  the  People's  Palace 
at  Whitechapel.  The  royal  procession  passed  through  seven  miles 
of  streets  of  garlands  and  banners,  drapery  and  decorations  of 
every  conceivable  kind.  Fifteen  thousand  troops  were  arranged 
along  the  route  in  most  effective  and  imposing  style,  and  the 
throngs  of  people  gave  as  unmistakable  evidences  of  their  loyalty 
and  affection  for  the  Queen  as  she  had  received  in  Birmingham. 
At  the  palace  the  usual  loyal  address,  enthusiastic  cheers,  and  sym- 
pathetic reply  from  the  Queen  took  place,  and  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
in  the  name  of  her  Majesty,  declared  the  building  open.  The 
Queen  then  visited  the  Lord  Mayor  at  the  Mansion  House,  where 
great  preparations  had  been  going  on  to  receive  the.  Sovereign  in 
state.  This  visit  was  a  remarkable  event,  for  the  Queen  had  not 
entered  the  municipal  palace  since  she  had  visited  it  with  her 
mother  two  years  before  her  accession  to  the  throne.  Seven  hun- 
dred invited  guests  were  present,  including  the  Aldermen  in  their 
scarlet  robes  and  chains,  and  the  Lord  Mayor  in  his  state  robes  of 
crimson  velvet  and  ermine.  The  latter  official  received  the  Queen, 
who  was  accompanied  by  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  and 
other  members  of  the  royal  family.  Refreshments  were  then 
served,  and  the  Queen  partook  of  tea  and  strawberries  with  her 
civic  hosts,  with  whom  she  spent  fully  half  an  hour,  charming  the 
company  with  her  affability,  and  afterward  leaving  amid  enthusiastic 
cheers  from  the  crowds  outside. 

THE    HOUSE    ATTENDED    CHURCH    IN    STATE 

The  formal  opening  of  the  Jubilee  occurred  on  the  i/th,  when 
Mr.  W.  H.  Smith,  the  leader  of  the  House  of  Commons,  proposed 
that  in  celebration  of  the  fiftieth  year  of  the  Queen's  reign,  the 
House  should  attend  St.  Margaret's  Church  at  Westminster  on  the 
following  Sunday.  Mr.  Gladstone  seconded  the  motion,  which  was 
unanimously  agreed  to,  and  on  that  day  the  House  of  Commons 
attended  church  in  a  body  for  the  first  time  since  May  4,  1856,  on 


THE  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE  335 

the  conclusion  of  the  Crimean  War.  This  was  a  different  occasion, 
however,  and  for  the  House  to  meet  in  state  and  go  to  church  to 
offer  solemn  thanksgivings  on  the  Jubilee  of  the  sovereign's  reign 
was  absolutely  unique.  The  Speaker  led  the  way  and  the  mem- 
bers followed  four  abreast.  The  Queen's  Westminster  volunteers 
formed  a  guard  of  honor  and  the  sermon  was  preached  by  the  elo- 
quent Bishop  of  Ripon. 

The  next  day  the  issue  of  the  Jubilee  Coinage  was  announced, 
to  be  marked  by  an  alteration  in  the  likeness  of  the  Queen  and  by 
the  introduction  of  a  new  x:oin,  the  double  florin.  On  the  2Oth, 
the  Queen  received  deputations  at  Windsor  from  the  London  and 
Edinburgh  Universities,  the  English  Presbyterians,  the  Society  of 
Friends  and  various  other  religious  bodies.  The  address  from  the 
Friends  was  peculiarly  interesting,  both  from  its  contents  and  from 
being  read  by  John  Bright,  the  honored  statesman  and  orator. 

On  the  2oth,  the  Court  removed  to  Balmoral,  where  the  Queen 
found  her  mountain  retreat  covered  with  snow.  On  the  iyth  of 
June  the  Court  returned  to  Windsor,  and  on  the  i8th,  the  Queen 
received  at  the  Castle  several  Indian  princes  and  deputations  from 
native  States,  among  them  being  the  Maharajah  Holkar  of  Indore. 
As  another  well  says,  "  Many  other  commemorations  followed  in 
the  form  of  banquets,  assemblies,  balls,  and  public  festivities  of 
every  kind  and  character,  from  the  feeding  of  6,000  poor  people  in 
Glasgow  to  a  Jubilee  yacht-race  around  the  United  Kingdom. 
Meantime  presents  of  every  sort  and  value  had  been  pouring  in 
from  individuals  and  collective  bodies,  princes  and  potentates  in 
the  east  and  west,  and  men,  women  and  children  in  all  parts  of  the 
Empire.  A  typical  one  was  the  'Woman's  Jubilee  Offering,'  which 
was  to  be  contributed  to  by  British  women  and  girls,  and  the 
nature  of  which  was  to  be  decided  by  the  Queen  herself." 

The  Jubilee  itself  was  celebrated  on  the  2ist  of  June.  The 
chief  streets  of  London  were  given  over  to  carpenters  and  uphol- 
sterers, gasmen  and  floral  decorators,  who  transformed  them  into  a 
veritable  bower  of  beauty.  The  thoroughfares  through  which  the 


336  THE  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE 

series  of  brilliant  processions  passed  were  decorated  in  a  way  impos- 
sible to  describe.  All  previous  demonstrations  of  the  kind  were 
eclipsed.  The  route  was  one  long  array  of  brilliant  color,  shifting 
and  gleaming  brightness,  waving  flags  and  banners  and  an  unpre- 
cedented display  of  magnificence. 

On  the  night  of  the  2Oth  the  city  was  swarming  with  people 
who  had  come  out  hoping  to  see  some  of  the  illuminations  tried. 
The  2ist  dawned  fair  and  beautiful,  the  sun  shining  with  a  fierce 
brightness  unusual  for  England.  As  the  day  -began,  crowds 
streamed  into  the  metropolis,  every  face  bright  with  the  festal  spirit 
of  the  day. 

ALL    PREVIOUS    DEMONSTRATIONS    ECLIPSED 

The  line  of  the  procession  was  from  Buckingham  Palace  to 
Westminster  Abbey,  and  all  along  the  route  seats  had  been  engaged 
at  fabulous  prices.  Those  who  had  secured  places  were  in  them 
early  in  the  morning,  and  the  crowd,  though  dense,  was  in  good 
humor,  even  the  police  being  exceptionally  amiable.  At  the  place 
of  starting — Buckingham  Palace — there  were  no  decorations,  but 
the  presence  of  the  Guards  and  of  the  sailors  from  the  fleet,  who 
were  on  duty  within  the  gates,  gave  animation  to  the  scene.  As 
ii  o'clock — the  hour  of  starting — approached,  a  strange  silence 
seemed  to  fall  over  the  noisy,  gossiping  crowd,  as  if  men  and 
women  felt  awed  and  touched  at  the  sight  of  their  aged  Sovereign 
proceeding  in  state  from  her  Palace  to  the  old  Abbey  to  thank 
God  for  permitting  her  to  see  the  fiftieth  year  of  her  reign.  It  was 
not  till  the  head  of  the  procession  moved  along  and  the  royal 
carriages  came  in  sight,  that  the  pent-up  feeling  of  the  dense  masses 
of  spectators  found  utterance  in  volley  after  volley  of  cheers.  The 
Queen's  face  was  tremulous  with  emotion  and  yet  thjere  was  triumph 
as  well  as  grateful  courtesy  in  her  bearing  as  she  bowed  her 
icknowledgements  to  her  subjects.  Beside  her  were  the  Princess 
of  Wales  and  the  German  Crown  Princess,  the  latter,  who  had  left 
England  to  wed  in  Germany,  beaming  with  happiness  and  delight 
to  find  her  countrymen  still  held  her  dear.  The  loyal  tumult  all 


THE  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE  337 

along  the  line  literally  drowned  the  noise  of  the  bands  and 
trumpets. 

The  Queen  rode  in  a  carriage  drawn  by  six  cream-colored 
horses,  and  was  attended  by  walking  footmen,  was  guarded  by  the 
Duke  of  Cambridge  and  an  escort,  and  immediately  followed  by  a 
body-guard  of  princes.  The  heir  to  the  throne — the  Prince  of 
Wales — was  mounted  on  a  golden  chestnut  horse  and  received 
many  and  frequent  cheers  on  the  way.  The  first  part  of  the 
procession  consisted  of  carriages  in  which  were  seated  the  sumptu- 
ously appareled  Indian  Princes,  who  were  clothed  in  cloth  of  gold 
and  wore  turbans  blazing  with  diamonds  and  precious  gems,  and 
had  come  from  the  far  East  to  celebrate  the  Jubilee  of  their 
Empress.  Between  the  eleventh  carriage  and  the  Queen's  rode 
the  brilliant  procession  of  the  Princes.  Their  appearance  all  along 
the  route  was  the  signal  for  an  outbreak  of  cheering.  The  central 
figure  of  this  group  was  the  German  Crown  Prince,  afterward  the 
Emperor,  Frederick  III.,  whose  white  uniform  and  plumed  silver 
helmet  attracted  general  admiration.  Covered  with  medals  and 
decorations,  most  of  which  he  had  won  by  his  prowess  in  battle,  he 
sat  on  his  charger  as  proudly  as  a  knight  of  the  Middle  Ages.  His 
fair,  frank  face  became  radiant  with  delight  when  he  found  peal 
after  peal  of  applause  greeted  him  whenever  he  appeared.  A 
gorgeous  cavalcade  of  Indians  brought  the  splendid  procession  to 
a  close. 

But  throughout  that  marvelous  journey,  amid  millions  of  her 
subjects  standing  in  masses  of  loyal  enthusiasm,  the  chief  figure, 
the  one  to  whom  all  eyes  and  hearts  were  turned  first  and  last,  was 
the  Sovereign  Lady  of  the  Realm.  It  was  one  of  the  greatest 
popular  demonstrations  of  all  history,  and  little  wonder  was  it  that 
the  Queen  was  visibly  affected  by  the  evidences  of  the  affections  of 
her  great  people. 

It  was  half  an  hour  after  midday  when  the  procession  reached 
Westminster  Abbey.  The  Abbey  had  been  prepared  at  a  cost  of 
5,000  for  the  reception  of  9000  or  10,000  persons,  and  the  scene 

19 


338  THE  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE 

there  was  one  which  even  that  centre  of  historic  splendor  had  never 
seen  equalled.  The  Queen  entered,  clad  in  black,  but  with  a  bon- 
net of  white  Spanish  lace,  glittering  with  diamonds,  and  wearing 
the  Orders  of  the  Garter  and  Star  of  India.  She  was  accompanied 
by  the  Lord  Chamberlain,  and  as  they  entered  the  Abbey  the 
organ  pealed  forth  the  strains  of  a  march. 

Waiting  for  the  Queen  were  officials  of  Church  and  State,  clad 
in  the  rich  uniforms  of  their  office  and  proud  to  do  her  honor.  As 
the  Queen  walked  up  the  Abbey  to  her  place,  in  the  midst  of  all 
this  gorgeous  array,  her  face  beamed  with  pleasure,  and  her  dignity 
of  bearing  was  unaffected  by  age  or  responsibilities  or  sorrows. 
She  looked  thoroughly  worthy  of  her  great  Imperial  position  and 
of  the  lustre  of  a  half  century's  glorious  reign. 

The  Jubilee  Thanksgiving  Service  now  took  place,  the 
solemnity  of  the  spectacle  hushing  the  throng  into  silence.  Rever- 
ently the  Queen  took  her  place  on  the  royal  seat,  the  Princes  and 
Princesses  of  her  train  near  her.  Surrounding  this  shining  group 
a  vast  crowd,  representing  the  genius,  the  rank,  the  wealth  and  the 
chivalry  of  Britain,  filled  every  nook  of  the  sacred  edifice  in  which 
the  Queen  celebrated  the  golden  anniversary  of  her  reign. 

The  Thanksgiving  Service  was  brief  and  simple.  The  Primate 
and  the  Dean  of  Westminster  officiated,  and  the  music  was  selected 
largely  from  the  compositions  of  the  Prince  Consort.  Prayers  and 
responses  invoking  a  blessing  on  the  Queen  were  chanted.  Three 
special  prayers  were  offered  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and 
two  simple  prayers  were  said,  and  the  ceremony,  impressive  from 
the  grandeur  of  the  surroundings  and  yet  thrilling  and  pathetic 
because  of  its  devotional  earnestness  and  simplicity,  ended  with  the 
benediction.  Here  the  Queen,  who  was  several  times  overcome  with 
emotion,  made  a  movement  as  if  she  would  rise  from  her  seat  on 
the  sacred  Coronation  Stone  of  Scone  and  kneel  on  the  space  in 
front  of  her.  But  she  could  not  reach  so  far  and  sank  back  into 
her  place,  veiling  her  bowed  face  with  her  hands.  She  then  glanced 
around,  and  her  eyes  filled  with  tears  as  they  rested  on  her  family 


THE  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE  339 

circle.  The  pent-up  feeling  of  the  royal  group  could  no  longer  be 
restrained,  and  the  solemn  pageant  of  State  suddenly  assumed  the 
aspect  of  a  family  party.  The  Queen,  with  an  impulsive  gesture, 
discarded  the  Lord  Chamberlain,  and  embraced  the  Princes  and 
Princesses  of  her  house  with  sincere  and  unreserved  motherly  affec- 
tion. The  organ  pealed  forth  another  march,  and  the  Queen,  making 
a  deep  bow  to  her  foreign  guests,  which  they  returned,  left  the  scene. 
The  procession  formed  again,  and,  as  the  Sovereign  returned  to  Buck- 
ingham Palace,  her  reception  was  even  more  enthusiastic  than  that 
which  had  greeted  her  on  the  way  to  the  Abbey. 

All  over  England  and  in  the  north  of  Ireland  the  Jubilee  was 
celebrated  as  enthusiastically  as  in  London.  In  the  Colonies  the 
day  was  observed  even  more  joyously  than  in  England. 

In  foreign  lands  also  the  British  residents  held  Jubilee  festi- 
vals, the  event  being  especially  honored  in  the  United  States. 

But  of  all  the  Jubilee  celebrations  perhaps  the  most  charming 
and  novel  was  one  which  was  held  in  Hyde  Park  on  the  22d. 

HAPPY    LINE    OF    SCHOOL-CHILDREN 

On  that  day  the  Queen  drove  in  state  down  a  long  and  happy 
line  of  27,000  school-children,  to  whom  had  been  given  a  Jubilee 
banquet  and  various  amusements,  besides  40,000  toys.  After  the 
Queen  had  driven  through  the  children's  ranks,  the  royal  ensign 
was  hoisted,  the  national  anthem  was  sung,  and  a  specially  manu- 
factured Jubilee  ring  was  presented  by  her  Majesty  in  a  kind 
speech  to  a  little  twelve-year-old  girl  who  had  attended  school  for 
seven  years  without  once  missing.  The  Queen  received  a  bouquet 
of  orchids  bearing  the  inscription,  4I  Not  Queen  alone,  but  Mother, 
Queen  and  Friend  in  one."  Amid  the  strains  of  "  Rule,  Britannia," 
followed  by  the  singing  of  "  God  Bless  the  Prince  of  Wales,"  the 
royal  party  left  the  Park.  From  here  the  Queen  went  to  Eton 
School,  where  her  reception  by  900  boys  was  more  than  enthusi- 
astic. The  Queen  was  deeply  touched  by  the  delight  of  her  little 
subjects. 


340  THE  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE 

On  the  25th  of  June  appeared  a  singularly  beautiful  ana 
touching  letter,  evidently  from  the  Queen's  own  pen,  thanking  the 
aation  for  their  display  of  loyalty  and  love.  The  following  days 
saw  many  brilliant  functions  and  ceremonies,  but  the  crowning 
event  of  the  Jubilee  occurred  on  the  4th  of  July.  On  that  day  the 
Queen  laid  the  foundation  stone  of  the  Imperial  Institute  in  the 
Albert  Hall.  The  Institute,  not  being  a  permanent  exhibit  of  the 
resources  of  the  colonies,  is  meant  to  stand  as  an  outward  and 
visible  sign  of  the  essential  unity  of  the  British  Empire.  The 
Queen,  assisted  by  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  the  architect,  laid  the 
first  solid  block  of  the  building — a  piece  of  granite  weighing  three 
tons.  The  service  in  the  Abbey  had  turned  all  minds  on  the  past, 
but  the  ceremonial  at  the  Institute  invited  thought  about  the 
future  and  the  part  of  England  in  the  evolution  of  the  English- 
speaking  race. 

A  review  of  56,000  volunteers  at  Aldershot,  the  laying  at 
Windsor  of  the  foundation  stone  of  a  statue  to  the  Prince  Consort, 
a  grand  review  of  135  warships  at  Spithead,  amid  innumerable 
smaller  vessels,  30,000  spectators  and  royal  salutes  which  made  a 
roar  like  many  thousand  thunders — these  were  some  of  the  con- 
cluding ceremonies  of  the  great  celebration. 


CHAPTER   XX 

Palace  Life  and  Royal  Entertainments 

THE  stately  ceremonials  of  Court  functions  were  largely  modi- 
fied in  the  simple  and  unaffected  life  led  by  her  Majesty  at 
home,  and  when  receiving  guests  and  visitors.  While  ever 
and  always  Queen,  in  calm  dignity  and  grace,  she  had  the  happy 
faculty  of  becoming  a  gracious  hostess,  and  setting  her  "  com- 
manded "  guests  at  their  ease.  She  was  exceedingly  punctilious 
about  the  minor  courtesies  of  life,  and  thoughtfully  careful  of  the 
comfort  and  pleasure  of  those  who  waited  upon  her.  The  solemn 
etiquette  and  formal  functions  prescribed  by  rigid  rule  in  many 
Continental  Court  circles  largely  disappeared  in  the  freer  and  more 
genial  atmosphere  of  the  Queen's  home  life.  State  ceremonies, 
drawing  rooms,  levees,  and  receptions  have  necessarily  their  forms 
and  regulations  ;  but  at  home,  at  Windsor  Castle,  and  more  notably 
at  Balmoral  or  Osborne,  Her  Majesty,  while  ever  dignified,  as 
befitted  her  exalted  position,  unbended  and  showed  herself  a  model 
hostess.  Many  who  had  won  appreciation  by  noble  deeds  or  dis- 
tinguished service,  and  had  thus  been  honored  with  a  command 
to  visit  the  Queen,  have  put  on  record  how  greatly  they  were 
impressed  by  the  combined  kindliness  and  dignity  of  their  reception 
by  their  Sovereign. 

GENERAL    GORDON'S    BIBLE. 

It  may  not  be  void  of  interest  to  give  the  following  fact  which 
we  have  lighted  upon  in  a  course  of  a  series  of  articles  on  the 
treasures  and  splendors  of  the  State  apartments  at  Windsor 
Castle: — "More  than  the  big  diamond,  the  silver  and  the  gold, 
and  the  rare  china,  does  her  Majesty  prize  the  plain  Bible 

341 


342  PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS 

bound  in  limp  leather,  and  with  over-flapping  edges,  that  belonged 
to  her  faithful  servant,  General  Gordon,  and  which  was  brought  to 
her  by  his  sister  sometime  after  his  sad  death.  The  simply  bound 
book  is  enshrined  in  a  seventeenth  century  fairy-like  casket  of 
carved  crystal,  with  silver  gilt  and  enamelled  mounts.  It  lies  on  a 
cushion  of  white  satin,  and  is  open  at  the  -first  chapter  of  the  Gos- 
pel of  St.  John,  marked. with  a  blue  pencil.  The  Queen  likes  all 
her  visitors  to  see  this  relic  of  a  great  man's  life,  and  on  more  than 
one  occasion  has  herself  directed  attention  to  it,  and  always  with 
words  of  deep  feeling." 

The  Queen's  love  for  and  remembrance  of  anniversaries  was 
said  to  be  almost  proverbial,  and  those  which  marked  the  more 
sorrowful  events  of  her  life  were  kept  as  days  apart.  The  i4th 
of  December,  which  date  marked  the  death  of  the  Prince  Consort, 
and,  ten  years  later,  of  Princess  Alice  of  Hesse,  wras  observed  by 
the  Queen  as  a  day  of  especial  mourning.  Save  at  the  Memorial 
Service  held  at  the  Albert  Mausoleum  at  Frogmore,  not  even  those 
members  of  the  Royal  Family  who  traveled  to  Windsor  for  that 
function  were  permitted  to  see  the  Queen.  No  business  of  any 
kind  was  transacted  by  Her  Majesty  on  that  day.  She  sat  almost 
alone  in  her  own  apartments,  and  it  was  the  one  day  in  the  year 
when,  save  for  the  short  drive  to  Frogmore  and  back,  she  took  no 
airing,  The  Court  was  expected  to  wear  black  on  that  day. 

THE  QUEEN'S  VISITORS  IN  HER  PALACE  LIFE 

After  the  period  of  her  widowhood  the  Queen  was  accus- 
tomed to  spend  Christmas  at  Osborne.  And,  although  of  later 
years  something  of  the  old  family  gathering  was  revived,  the 
Queen's  Christmas  was  always  overshadowed  with  the  sad  memo- 
ries called  forth  by  the  anniversaries,  on  the  I4th  of  December, 
of  the  deaths  of  the  Prince  Consort  and  the  Princess  Alice. 

Among  the  Queen's  visitors  in  her  palace  life  were  some  who 
were  not  "  commanded  "  and  were  not  always  welcome.  In  early  life 
her  Majesty  was  frequently  annoyed  by  the  visits,  or  attempted 


PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS  343 

visits  of  lovers  and  lunatics — they  are  not  always  identical.  One  of 
the  former,  who  seems  to  have  been  also  one  of  the  latter,  was  a 
gentleman  from  Tunbridge  Wells.  In  order  to  catch  some  glimpses 
of  the  royal  young  lady  whom  he  adored,  he  disguised  himself  as  a 
gardener,  and  got  work  at  Kensington  Gardens. 

Years  afterwards  another  gentleman,  disguised  as  a  workman, 
paid  the  Queen  an  uninvited  visit — not  to  see  herself,  but  to  see 
the  pictures  in  Buckingham  Palace.  This  picture-lover  had  seen 
all  the  great  paintings  in  London,  but  the  collection  in  the  palace 
was  inaccessible  to  an  ordinary  connoisseur.  He  managed,  how- 
ever, to  see  them  in  this  way  :  a  friend  of  his,  a  carpet  merchant, 
had  orders  to  put  down  carpets  in  the  State  apartments.  He 
dressed  himself  in  character,  and  entered  the  palace  as  a  workman 
with  those  who  were  really  going  to  put  down  the  carpets.  He 
remained  in  one  of  the  apartments  after  the  workmen  had  left. 

While  he  was  alone,  the  Queen  came  tripping  in,  wearing  a 
plain  white  morning  dress,  and  followed  by  two  or  three  of  her 
younger  children,  dressed  with  like  simplicity.  She  approached 
the  supposed  workman  and  said,  "  Pray,  can  you  tell  me  when  the 
new  carpet  will  be  put  down  in  the  Privy  Council  chamber?"  He, 
thinking  that  he  had  no  right  to  recognize  the  Queen  under  the 
circumstances,  replied :  "  Really,  madam,  I  cannot  tell,  but  I  will 
inquire."  "  Stay,"  she  said  abruptly,  but  not  unkindly ;  "  who  are 
you  ?  I  perceive  that  you  are  not  one  of  the  workmen." 

Mr.  W.,  blushing  and  stammering,  made  a  clean  breast  of  it, 
and  told  the  simple  truth.  The  Queen  seemed  much  amused  with 
his  ruse,  and  forgave  it  for  the  sake  of  his  love  of  art.  She  added, 
smiling,  "  I  knew  that  you  were  a  gentleman,  because  you  did  not 
4  Your  Majesty 'me.  Pray,  look  at  the  pictures  as  long  as  you  like. 
Good  morning.  Come,  chicks,  we  must  go." 

For  those  whose  duties  made  their  presence  necessary  in  the 
Queen's  palace,  life  did  not  always  move  smoothly.  As  she  grew 
older,  Victoria  grew  irritable,  and  popular  ideas  as  to  basking  in 
the  sunshine  of  royalty  were  apt  to  be  dispelled  by  the  frowns 


344  PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS 

which  frequently  clouded  the  countenance  of  "  Her  Most  Gracious 
Majesty."  Trifling  circumstances  would  annoy  her,  and  although 
under  ordinary  circumstances  a  woman  of  strong  common  sense, 
she  became  at  times  unreasonable,  and  even  harsh. 

Some  of  the  most  loyal  and  deserving  members  of  her  house- 
hold were  dismissed  and  turned  away  almost  at  a  moment's  notice, 
not  for  any  misconduct,  but  merely  because  their  appearance  had 
ceased  to  please,  and  become  tiresome  to  her  capricious  Majesty. 

There  is  one  case,  that  of  Lord  Piayfair,  who,  notwithstanding 
his  long  and  devoted  services  to  the  Prince  Consort,  was  removed 
from  his  post  of  gentleman-in-waiting  because  the  Queen  had  objec- 
tion to  his  legs,  which,  being  short  and  deflected,  did  not  appear  to 
advantage  in  knee-breeches  and  silk  stockings.  Mr.  Lyon  Play- 
fair,  as  he  was  then,  was  afterwards  consoled  by  a  peerage,  and  by 
his  marriage  to  a  charming  American  girl,  Miss  Russel,  of  Boston. 

Although  the  Queen's  irritability  kept  the  members  of  her 
household  in  constant  apprehension  of  royal  displeasure  and  scold- 
ings of  imperial  vigor,  yet  she  was  constantly  doing  little  acts  of 
considerate  and  motherly  kindness  which  endeared  her  alike  to  her 
immediate  attendants  and  to  her  subjects.  While  naturally  kind 
and  considerate,  the  exercise  of  unlimited  authority  in  her  house- 
hold led  to  a  sharpness  and  brusqueness  of  which  she,  no  doubt, 
often  repented. 

Although  small  in  person,  the  Queen  impressed  every  one 
with  whom  she  was  brought  in  contact  with  a  sense  of  her  dignity, 
This  quality,  although  impressive,  lends  itself  to  caricature.  On 
one  occasion  one  of  the  grooms-in-waiting  was  engaged  in  "  taking 
off '  his  royal  mistress,  much  to  the  amused  enjoyment  of  some 
members  of  the  Court.  His  imitation  of  the  Queen  playing  the 
piano  and  singing  a  song  was  irresistible.  Just  as  he  was  finishing, 
the  Queen  entered  the  room,  and  at  once  recognized  the  fact  that 
she  was  being  caricatured.  A  dead  silence  prevailed.  The  guilty 
courtier  turned  pale  and  tried  to  stammer  out  some  excuses.  His 
tongue  refused  its  office,  and  he  waited  to  receive  his  sentence.. 


PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS  345 

The  Queen,  in  a  stern  voice,  commanded  the  Honorable at 

once  to  repeat  the  entertainment.  This  he  did  in  fear  and  tremb- 
ling, but  gradually  warmed  to  his  work,  and  the  Queen  laughed 
until  the  tears  came  into  her  eyes.  Afterwards  the  courtier  in 
question  was  often  asked  by  her  Majesty  to  repeat  his  imitation, 
and  those  who  were  privileged  to  see  it  declare  that  the  likeness 
was  lifelike.  The  Queen's  amiability  and  absence  of  self-conscious- 
ness on  this  occasion  were  an  indication  of  her  true  greatness. 

Life  in  the  British  palaces  is  a  matter  of  etiquette  and  form- 
alism, and  many  court  officials,  mediaeval  in  origin,  and  marked 
only  by  showy  inutility  in  modern  days,  still  strut  their  little  lives 
upon  the  stage  of  courtly  duties,  many  of  them  having  no  better 
warrant  for  their  existence  than  that  of  "  filling  up  space." 

Among  the  picturesque  and  ornamental  features  of  Queen 
Victoria's  Court  were  her  two  body-guards,  the  one  composed  of 
pensioned  Colonels  and  Majors,  with  distinguished  service  records, 
who  were  entitled  the  "  Gentlemen-at-Arms,"  while  the  other  was 
recruited  from  non-commissioned  officers,  and  its  members  were 
known  by  the  name  of  the  "Yeomen  of  the  Guard."  The  public, 
however,  for  some  reason  or  other,  have  designated  them  as 
44  Beefeaters." 

YEOMEN    OF    THE    GUARD 

A  yeoman  usher  and  a  party  of  yeomen  compose  the  Guard 
that  attends  in  the  Great  Chamber  on  levee  days  and  drawing- 
room  days,  their  office  being  to  keep  the  passage  clear,  that  the 
nobility  who  frequent  the  Court  may  pass  without  inconvenience. 
The  usher  is  posted  at  the  head  of  the  room,  close  by  the  door 
leading  into  the  Presence  Chamber,  to  whom,  when  persons  of  a 
certain  distinction  enter  from  the  stairs,  the  lowermost  yeoman 
next  to  the  entrance  of  the  Chamber  calls  aloud,  "  Yeoman  Usher  ! " 
to  apprise  him  of  such  approach.  To  this  the  Usher  makes  answer 
by  audibly  crying,  "Stand  by!"  to  warn  all  indifferent  persons  to 
leave  the  passage  clear, 


The  Captain  of  the  "  Yeomen  of  the  Guard,"  who  is  invariably 
a  Peer  of  the  Realm,  and  who  changes  with  each  administration, 
receives  a  salary  of  $5,000.  He  is  ex-officio  a  member  of  the  Privy 
Council,  wears,  like  other  officers  of  the  corps,  a  military  uniform, 
and  carries  an  ebony  baton  tipped  with  gold  as  his  badge  of  office. 

The  Gentlemen-at-Arms,  instituted  by  Henry  VIII.,  were 
intended  by  him  to  be  recruited  from  a  higher  class  than  the  Yeo- 
men of  the  Guard,  and  to  resemble  the  "  Gentlemen  of  the  French 
King's  House,"  a  body  composed  almost  wholly  of  young  grandees. 
All  the  captains  have  been  noblemen  of  high  rank,  and  the  corps 
at  present  is  composed  of  ex-commissioned  officers  of  high  distinc- 
tion. For  a  long  time  these  two  bodies  were  the  only  standing 
forces  permitted  in  the  kingdom.  They  figured  in  all  ceremonials, 
received  embassadors,  and  escorted  foreign  Princes  on  visits  to  the 
Sovereign.  Nor  were  they  without  distinction  in  arms,  for  they 
were  at  the  siege  of  Boulogne,  the  Battle  of  Spurs,  and  on  other 
battle-fields  of  France. 

OFFICE  OF  "QUEEN'S  CHAMPIONS" 

When  the  Queen  came  to  the  Throne  only  three  of  the  Guard 
were  old  soldiers,  though  all  of  them  bore  the  courtesy  title  of 
"  Captain,"  and  in  precedence  ranked  immediately  after  Privy  Coun- 
cilors. The  corps  now  contains  over  forty  members,  every  one  of 
whom  has  served  with  more  or  less  distinction,  and  perhaps  at  no 
period  in  its  history  has  the  ancient  Guard  reached  a  higher  social 
standard. 

One  of  the  most  peculiar  offices  in  connection  with  the  Royal 
household  is  that  of  the  "  Queen's  (King's)  Champion, "a  very  ancient 
office,  popularly  supposed  to  have  been  instituted  by  William  the 
Conqueror,  and  since  his  coronation  held  by  descendants  of  Sir 
John  Dymoke. 

The  "  Champion  of  England,"  for  that  is  his  official  title,  only 
appears  once  during  the  reign  of  a  British  Monarch — namely,  at 
the  coronation,  While  the  coronation  banquet  is  in  progress,  which 


PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS          347 

has  hitherto  always  taken  place  in  Westminster  Hall,  the  Champion 
enters  on  horseback,  arrayed  from  head  to  foot  in  steel  armor,  and 
with  closed  visor. 

Raising  his  visor,  he  challenges  all  comers  to  deny  the  title  of 
the  sovereign,  and  offers,  if  necessary,  to  fight  them  on  the  spot. 
It  is  needless  to  add  that  no  one  is  ever  found  to  take  up  the 
gauntlet  which  he  casts  down  on  the  floor.  A  golden  goblet  full  of 
wine  is  then  handed  to  him,  which  he  drains  to  the  health  of  the 
monarch,  after  which  he  backs  his  charger  from  the  Royal  presence, 
carrying  with  him  the  magnificently  chased  golden  goblet  as  his 
perquisite. 

The  royal  footmen  are  exceedingly  imposing  and  superb  per- 
sonages, though  they  have  become  less  exalted  than  formerly.  Early 
in  the  Queen's  reign  the  salary  of  the  royal  footman  was  $550  a 
year,  with  a  possible  rise  to  the  rank  of  a  senior  footman  with  $600 
a  year.  This  was  not  a  very  high  salary,  but  the  dignity  of  the 
service,  and  the  fact  that  it  was  always  followed  by  a  pension,  and 
sometimes  led  to  higher  rank,  rendered  it  attractive  to  stalwart 
members  of  the  respectable  middle  class  on  the  lookout  for  a 
career.  Moreover,  there  were  perquisites — bread  and  beer  money, 
for  instance — amounting  to  $70  a  year,  while  a  footman  sent  on  a 
journey,  however  short,  received  six  shillings  a  day  for  refresh- 
ment. 

All  that,  however,  was  in  the  good  days  before  the  shadow  of 
reform  fell  upon  the  Queen's  establishment,  when  Prince  Albert 
was  in  the  prime  of  his  vigor.  In  later  days  even  so  gorgeous  a 
gentleman  as  the  Queen's  footman  had  to  begin  with  a  modest  $250 
a  year,  which  in  course  of  time  might  increase  to  $400,  but  no 
more.  Perquisites,  too,  were  abolished  or  curtailed.  There  was 
an  allowance  of  six  guineas  and  a  half  for  hair-powder,  bag,  and 
stockings ;  but,  sad  to  say,  each  man  had  to  find  his  own  blacking 
and  boot-brushes,  and  to  pay  for  his  own  washing. 

The  Queen  had  fifteen  footmen,  and  one  sergeant-footman 
with  a  salary  of  $650  a  year.  Formerly  the  sergeant-footman  or 


348  PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS 

one  of  the  six  senior  footmen  was  often  promoted  to  the  position 
of  Page  of  the  Presence  or  of  a  Queen's  Messenger,  either  of 
which  was  worth  $1,500,  or  $2,000  a  year.  But  this  practice  went 
the  way  of  most  of  the  perquisites,  and  the  position  of  a  royal 
footman  ceased  to  be  sought  for  as  it  formerly  was. 

Next  to  the  royal  footmen,  the  State  trumpeters  are  among 
the  most  popular  of  functionaries  on  all  great  occasions.  There 
are  eight  of  them,  with  a  sergeant  at  their  head.  They  form  part 
of  the  State  band,  which  is  only  called  upon  on  important  occas- 
ions. As  in  the  case  of  the  footmen,  their  gorgeous  raiment,  their 
silver  trumpets,  and  their  stately  demeanor  might  suggest  to  the 
uninitiated  dignitaries  of  large  emoluments,  if  not  of  exalted  rank, 
but  their  sergeant  gets  only  $500  a  year,  and  each  of  the  eight 
minor  musicians  $200.  There  are,  however,  in  addition,  fees  paid 
to  them  on  each  occasion  of  their  performing  in  public. 

From  footmen  and  trumpeters  to  pursuivants,  heralds,  and 
kings-at-arms  is  a  great  stride  up  the  social  and  ceremonial  ladder. 
These  functionaries  have  both  a  popular  and  historical  interest. 
Their  quaintly  gorgeous  costumes  always  attract  attention  on  State 
occasions,  and  their  undoubted  antiquity  and  mysterious  functions 
— their  declarations  of  war  and  of  peace,  announcements  at  coro- 
nations, and  solemn  annunciations  of  titles  and  dignities  over  illus- 
trious graves — all  tend  to  invest  them  with  a  curious  interest  in  the 
eyes  of  beholders. 

OFFICE    OF    HERALDS 

The  heralds  must  be  gentlemen  "  skilled  in  the  ancient  and 
modern  languages,  good  historians,  and  conversant  in  the  genealo- 
gies of  the  nobility  and  gentry."  The  direct  emoluments  of  the 
office  are  trivial.  But  it  is  their  function  "  to  grant  coats  armorial 
and  supporters  to  the  same  to  such  as  are  properly  authorized  to 
bear  them  ;  where  no  armorial  arms  are  known  to  belong  to  the 
party  applying  for  the  grant  they  invent  devices  and  emblazon 
them  in  the  most  applicable  manner,  so  as  to  reflect  credit  upon  their 
own  fertility  of  knowledge,  and  to  afford  satisfaction  to  the  wearer," 


PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS          349 

They  are,  of  course,  entitled  to  more  liberal  fees  than  fall  to 
the  lot  of  most  inventors,  and,  moreover,  they  are  the  great  sources 
of  genealogical  lore.  Pursuivants,  heralds,  and  kings-at-arms  are 
under  the  Earl  Marshal  of  England,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  and, 
indeed,  are  now  created  by  him.  Formerly  when  kings-at-arms 
were  more  important  functionaries  than  they  are  now,  they  were 
crowned  veritable  kings  by  the  sovereign  himself.  They  go  through 
the  same  ceremony  of  installation  now,  but  it  is  performed  by  the 
Earl  Marshal,  by  royal  warrant.  Upon  this  occasion  the  chosen 
functionary  takes  his  oath,  wine  is  poured  out  of  a  gilt  cup  with  a 
cover,  his  title  is  pronounced,  and  he  is  invested  with  a  tabret  of 
the  royal  arms  richly  embroidered  upon  velvet,  a  collar  of  SS, 
with  two  portcullises  of  silver  gilt,  a  gold  chain,  and  a  badge  of  his 
office.  Then  the  Earl  Marshal  places  on  his  head  the  crown  of  a 
king-of-arms.  This  formerly  resembled  a  ducal  coronet ;  but  since 
the  Restoration  it  has  been  adorned  with  leaves  resembling  those 
of  the  oak,  and  circumscribed  with  the  words,  "Miserere  mei  Deus 
secundum  magnam  misericordiam  tuam"  (God  have  mercy  upon 
me  according  to  your  great  goodness.) 

Garter  has  also  a  mantle  of  crimson  satin  as  an  officer  of  the 
order,  and  a  white  rod  or  sceptre  with  the  sovereign's  arms  upon 
the  top,  which  he  bears  in  the  presence  of  the  sovereign.  There 
are  three  kings-at-arms.  Garter  is  king-at-arms  of  England,  Clar- 
encieux  is  king  of  the  province  south  of  the  Trent,  and  Norroy  is 
king  of  the  northern  provinces.  The  heralds  go  through  an  initia- 
tory ceremony  as  the  kings,  except  the  crowning.  They  are  all 
military  and  civil  officers,  and  in  token  of  this  they  are  all  sworn 
on  sword  and  Bible. 

The  office  of  Earl  Marshal  is  among  the  highest  and  oldest. 
He  is  the  eighth  great  officer  of  State,  and  is  the  only  Earl  who  is 
an  Earl  by  virtue  of  his  office. 

The  Lord  Steward  is  another  holder  of  a  slip  from  the  sceptre. 
He  has  a  white  wand  as  an  emblem  of  his  authority  under  the 
Crown.  He  is  supposed  to  have  the  sole  direction  of  the  sovereign's 


350  PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS 

household,  and  receives  $10,000  a  year,  though,  except  on  State 
occasions,  he  is  not  required  at  Court,  the  practical  functions  of  his 
office  being  discharged  by  the  resident  master  of  the  household. 
The  Queen's  establishments,  however,  excepting  only  the  chamber, 
stables,  and  chapel,  are  supposed  to  be  under  his  entire  control. 
All  his  commands  are  to  be  obeyed,  and  he  has  power  to  hold 
Courts  for  the  administration  of  justice,  and  for  settling  disputes 
between  the  Queen's  servants.  The  Lord  Steward  always  bears 
his  white  wand  when  in  the  presence  of  the  sovereign,  and  on 
all  ceremonial  occasions  when  the  sovereign  is  not  present  the 
wand  is  borne  before  him  by  a  footman  walking  bareheaded.  He 
takes  this  symbol  of  delegated  power  directly  from  the  sovereign's 
hand,  and  has  no  other  formal  grant  of  office.  On  the  death  of 
the  monarch  the  Lord  Steward  breaks  his  wand  of  office  over  the 
corpse,  and  his  functions  are  at  an  end,  and  all  the  officers  of  the 
royal  household  are  virtually  discharged. 

THE    PRINCIPAL    THRONE    OF    THE    BRITISH    MONARCHY 

All  this  display  of  "leather  and  prunella"  is  a  relic  of  medise- 
valism  which  has  been  retained  by  English  conservatism.  In 
earlier  times  it  was  thought  to  add  to  the  splendor  of  the  throne 
and  the  dignity  of  the  monarch  ;  now  it  is,  some  think,  worthy  only 
of  ridicule,  for  the  world  has  advanced  beyond  the  range  of  such 
eye-catching  trappings.  But  let  our  good  brothers  and  cousins  of 
England,  who  have  an  undying  admiration  for  ancient  customs, 
cling  to  it  still  if  the  gorgeousness  of  the  royal  footmen  adds  any- 
thing to  their  pleasure  or  reverence. 

Speaking  of  the  royal  seat,  it  may  be  said  that  the  principal 
throne  of  the  British  monarchy  is  in  the  House  of  Lords.  It  is 
elevated  on  a  dais,  the  central  portion  having  three,  and  the  sides 
two  steps,  covered  with  a  carpet  of  the  richest  velvet  pile.  The 
ground  color  of  the  carpet  is  a  bright  scarlet,  and  the  pattern  on  it 
consists  of  roses  and  lions,  alternately.  A  gold-colored  fringe 
borders  the  carpet 


PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS          351 

The  canopy  to  the  throne  is  divided  into  three  apartments,  of 
which  the  central  one,  much  loftier  than  the  others,  was  occupied 
by  her  Majesty,  that  on  the  right  hand  by  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
and  that  on  the  left  formerly  by  Prince  Albert.  The  back  of  the  cen- 
tral compartment  is  paneled  in  the  most  exquisite  manner.  The 
three  lowest  tiers  have  the  lions  passant  of  England,  carved  and 
gilded  on  a  red  ground,  and  above  them  in  a  wiJe  panel,  arched, 
and  enriched  with  dainty  carvings,  are  the  royal  arms  of  England, 
surrounded  by  the  Garter,  with  its  supporters,  helmet  and  crest,  and 
an  elaborate  mantling  forming  a  rich  and  varied  background.  The 
motto,  "Dieu  et  Mon  Droit,"  is  on  a  horizontal  band  of  deep-blue 
tint.  In  small  panels,  traceried,  parallel  with  the  large  arched  one, 
are  roses,  shamrocks,  and  thistles,  clustered  together,  and  crowned ; 
and  above  them,  in  double-arched  panels,  the  royal  -monogram, 
crowned  and  interwoven  by  a  cord,  is  introduced. 

The  Crown  Jewels  of  Great  Britain  are  kept  at  the  Tower  of 
London,  and  are  entrusted  to  the  care  of  the  "  Keeper  of  the 
Regalia."  They  are  all  in  the  Jewel-house,  inclosed  in  an  immense 
case.  Prominent  among  them  is  the  crown  made  for  the  coronation 
of  Queen  Victoria,  at  an  expense  of  about  $600,000.  Among  the 
profusion  of  diamonds  is  the  large  ruby  worn  by  the  Black  Prince , 
the  crown  made  for  the  coronation  of  Charles  II.  ;  the  crown  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales  and  that  of  the  late  Prince  Consort ;  the  crown 
made  for  the  coronation  of  James  II.'s  Queen;  also  her  ivory 
sceptre.  The  coronation  spoon,  and  bracelets  and  royal  spurs, 
swords  of  Mercy  and  Justice,  are  among  the  other  jewels.  Here, 
too,  is  the  silver-gilt  baptismal  font,  in  which  is  deposited  the 
christening  water  for  the  royal  children;  also  the  celebrated  Koh-i- 
noor  diamond. 

For  the  benefit  of  those  who  are  interested  in  the  private  and 
public  fortune  of  the  Queen,  it  may  be  said,  although  we  have  stated 
this  in  another  chapter  in  a  more  general  way,  that  Parliament 
granted  her  $1,92 5,000  a  year,  but  that  included  the  running  expenses 
of  all  her  palaces,  the  salaries  and  pensions  of  her  large  retinue  of 


352  PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS 

attendants  and  servants  of  high  and  low  degree.  Out  of  it  she  was 
estimated,  after  paying  all  these  expenses,  to  have  $300,000  a  year 
left  for  her  own  personal  purse:  None  of  this  was  used  for  her 
public  gifts  to  charity,  which  Parliament  provided  for  in  its  grant. 

THE  PRIVATE  AND  PUBLIC  FORTUNE  OF  THE  QUEEN 

In  exchange  for  the  royal  revenues  from  the  Duchy  of  Lan 
caster,  which  was  extinguished  long  ago, Victoria  received  $215,000 
a  year  more.  So  that  for  nearly  sixty-four  years  her  private  income 
from  the  British  Treasury  alone  was  $515,000  a  year.  As  she  never 
was  a  woman  of  lavish  expenditure,  it  is  a  reasonable  belief  that 
she  saved  largely  from  this  annual  income.  As  regards  her  private 
property,  it  may  be  said  that  the  vast  domains  which  of  old 
belonged  to  the  Crown  were  surrendered  to  the  State  during  the 
reign  of  George  IV.  Prince  Albert  left  her  the  greater  part  of  his 
estate  of  $3,000,000,  and  John  Camden  Nield,  the  miserly  son  of  a 
goldsmith  who  had  worked  for  George  III.,  left  by  will  to  the 
Queen  and  her  heirs  an  estate  of  about  $2,500,000.  The  gifts 
made  to  her  during  the  Jubilee  were  worth  about  $250,000.  The 
Osborne  and  Balmoral  estates  were  her  private  property,  her  Scot- 
tish estate  containing  over  37,000  acres.  She  also  owned  Clare- 
mont,  a  landed  estate  in  Coburg,  and  a  magnificent  villa  in  Berlin. 
Various  estimates  have  been  made  as  to  the  value  of  her  property, 
based  on  her  probable  savings  and  the  increase  in  value  of  her 
inheritances  and  estates,  but  its  real  value  cannot  be  stated.  In  it 
must  be  included  her  valuable  collection  of  laces  and  jewels,  worth 
a  large  sum  of  money. 

Around  Windsor  Castle  more  than  any  other  of  her  homes  her 
Majesty's  life,  from  the  time  of  her  accession,  was  centred.  This 
was  her  home  par  excellence.  Buckingham,  though  no  whit  less 
gorgeous  within,  is  a  pigmy  in  size  compared  with  the  colossal  pile 
of  Windsor,  which  dominates  the  surrounding  landscape — the  rich 
groves,  the  houses  of  the  town,  the  meadows,  and  the  tranquil 
Thames — much  as  would  a  solitary  mountain  peak. 


PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS          353 

Founded  by  William  the   Conqueror,  the  huge   structure  has 
grown  under  the  hands  of  many  kings.     George  IV.  spent  $5,000,000 


DRAWING-ROOM    AT  BUCKINGHAM    PALACE 


on  it.     Buckingham  and   Windsor   belong  to  the  English  sovei 
eigns,   and  therefore  to  the  nation,  and  are    thus    in    a   different 
category    from   the   Queen's   private    residences   of    Osborne  and 


20 


354  PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS 

Balmoral,  in  which  she  spent  such  intervals  as  she  could  withdraw 
from  the  cares  of  State. 

The  Queen  devoted  ,£10,000,  or  $50,000,  every  year  to  enter- 
tainments at  Buckingham  Palace.  These  consisted  of  two  State 
balls  and  two  State  concerts,  at  each  of  which  her  Majesty  was 
represented  by  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales.  She  limited  the 
expense  of  the  State  balls  to  $10,000  each,  while- that  of  the  State 
concerts  was  fixed  at  $15,000.  Under  no  circumstances  were  these 
figures  permitted  to  be  exceeded.  Court  trains  were  not  worn  by 
the  ladies  at  these  entertainments,  while  the  men,  unless  they 
belonged  to  the  army  or  the  navy,  were  forced  to  don  white  knee- 
breeches  and  white  silk  stockings,  which  are  very  trying  to  the 
appearance. 

RECEPTIONS    AT    BUCKINGHAM    PALACE 

The  second  category  of  the  Queen's  guests  were  those  who 
attended  her  periodical  afternoon  receptions  at  Buckingham  Palace, 
known  by  the  name  of  "  Drawing-rooms,"  and  held  for  the  express 
purpose  of  permitting  debutantes  to  be  presented  to  the  royal 
family. 

The  ventilation  of  the  Palace  is  very  defective,  and  the  crush 
is  intolerable.  Everybody  wants  to  get  ahead  of  everybody  else, 
in  order  to  get  through  the  presentation  and  back  to  her  carriage, 
for  a  Court  presentation  practically  involves  leaving  one's  house  at 
noon,  alighting  at  the  Palace  an  hour  later,  after  interminable  waits, 
and  standing  amid  an  elbowing,  pushing,  somewhat  selfish  throng 
of  women,  in  an  atmosphere  laden  with  strong  perfumes,  which  are 
a  combination  of  artificial  scents,  natural  flowers,  and  cosmetics, 
until  about  four  or  five  o'clock,  when  one  finally  re-enters  the 
carriage,  crumpled,  dispirited,  faint  from  hunger  and  fatigue,  and 
thoroughly  disappointed. 

All  this  is  undergone  for  the  sake  of  spending  about  sixty 
seconds  in  the  throne-room,  just  the  time  required  to  walk  from 
the  door  up  to  the  spot  where  stands  the  Queen,  or,  as  is  more 
generally  the  case,  one  of  the  Princesses  representing  her,  to  whom 


PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS  355 

a  low  courtesy  is  made.  The  royal  lady  utters  no  word  of  welcome 
or  greeting,  but  merely  acknowledges  the  salute  by  a  slight  inclina- 
tion of  the  head,  and  then  the  presentee  has  to  back  out  of  the 
room  with  all  possible  speed. 

Buckingham  Palace  is  far  from  showy  on  the  outside,  and  were 
it  not  for  the  red-coated  sentinels  who  unceasingly  march  up  and 
down  before  the  gates  thereof,  it  would  hardly  give  one  the 
impression  of  being  a  royal  residence.  The  front  of  the  building 
gives  no  idea  of  the  pleasant  rooms  situated  at  the  back,  and  which 
overlook  a  large  and  beautiful  garden,  into  which  one  steps  through 
the  French  windows  opening  on  to  a  green  lawn,  shaded  all  around 
by  fine  and  well-grown  trees,  giving  no  indication  in  their  luxuriant 
foliage  of  being  in  the  midst  of  London. 

This  verdant  carpet  leads  to  a  crystal  lake  further  on,  where  in 
quiet  enjoyment  broods  of  water-fowl  and  several  swans  live  in 
contentment. 

The  galleries,  ball-room,  and  concert-room,  which  are  reached 
from  the  staircase,  are  of  great  magnificence.  Wall  seats,  draped 
in  satin,  are  provided  for  the  company  assembling  in  these  rooms 
for  a  ball,  a  concert,  or  any  other  royal  function,  and  at  one  end 
many  handsome  chairs  are  placed  for  the  accommodation  of  royalty, 
with  the  throne-room  further  on,  where  the  Queen  received  her 
guests  in  state  ;  and  where  many  cUbutantesvitffa  palpitating  hearts, 
as  well  as  more  familiar  habitues,  have  made  their  courtesies. 

To  encourage  trade,  the  Court  gave  great  entertainments,  but 
they  excited  discontent  instead  of  gratitude.  The  most  splendid  of 
these  entertainments  was  the  Plantagenet  Ball.  It  was  a  wonder- 
fully perfect  reproduction  of  the  Court  of  Edward  1 1 1.;- Prince 
Albert  representing  that  monarch,  the  Queen,  Philippa,  his  wife. 
Many  of  the  guests  appeared  in  the  very  armor  of  their  forefathers, 
others  in  costumes  copied  from  family  pictures.  One  lady  gave  a 
thousand  pounds  for  her  dress  alone,  and  there  was  even  a  man 
(Lord  Chesterfield)  whose  costume  cost  eight  hundred  pounds. 
The  Queen's  dress  of  brocade  in  blue  and  gold,  lined  with  miniver. 


356  PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS 

was  made  in  Spitalfields.  One  diamond  in  her  crown,  valued  at 
ten  thousand  pounds,  was  so  large  that  it  shone  like  a  star.  Lady 
Londonderry's  very  gloves  and  shoes  were  resplendent  with 
brilliants.  The  tent  of  Tippoo  Sahib  was  used  as  a  refreshment- 
room,  and  supper  was  served  in  the  dining-room.  The  tables  were 
covered  with  shields,  vases,  and  tankards  of  massive  gold.  As 
many  as  eighteen  thousand  persons,  it  is  said,  were  employed  in  the 
preparations  for  this  superb/^.  We  may  mention  here  that  there 
was  a  "  Powder  Ball  "  at  Buckingham  Palace  three  years  afterwards. 
All  the  guests  were  dressed  in  the  style  of  1750,  when  hair-powder 
was  the  fashion.  There  was  also  a  "  Restoration  Ball,"  when  the 
time  of  Charles  II.  was  reproduced. 

THE  QUEEN'S  HOME  LIFE 

The  Queen's  home  life  will  be  of  interest  to  many  readers, 
and  some  mention  of  it  may  suitably  be  made.  Her  private 
sitting-room  might  well  have  belonged  to  any  one  of  her 
wealthier  subjects  who  possessed  a  simple  taste  in  furniture  and 
decorations,  a  large  collection  of  pictures  and  sketches,  and  a  full 
circle  of  relations  and  friends.  The  general  scheme  of  color  was 
crimson  and  cream  and  gold.  Heavy  damask  draperies  framed  the 
windows,  the  lower  panes  of  which  were  veiled  with  short  curtains 
of  snowy  muslin.  The  blinds  were  of  a  dainty  material  called 
diaphane,  in  which  was  woven  in  a  transparent  pattern  the  insignia 
and  motto  of  the  Garter.  The  furniture  was  principally  upholstered 
in  the  same  flowered  crimson  and  gold  damask  that  draped  the 
window's.  The  walls  were  panelled  in  the  same  silk,  and  here  the 
constant  recurrence  of  the  pattern  (a  conventional  bouquet  of 
flowers)  would  become  monotonous  were  it  not  for  the  number  of 
pictures  of  every  description  which  covered  the  walls  from  within 
a  short  distance  of  the  ceiling  of  deep  crimson  and  gold  to  within 
four  feet  of  the  rich  crimson  carpet,  which  is  patterned  with  a  deli- 
cate tracery  of  scrolls  and  garlands  in  pale  yellow.  The  many 


U  WAS  DlSTIMV/SHEfa  SoNS*»VlfflRIAS REIGN 


PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS  359 

doors  were  painted  cream  color  and  decorated  with   floral   panels 
and  gold  mouldings. 

The  mantelpieces  and  occasional  tables  in  the  Queen's  dressing- 
room  were  as  charmingly  arranged  and  beflowered  as  those  in  the 
sitting-room.  Here  the  green  silk  walls  and  hangings  made  a  per- 
fect background  for  the  toilet  accessories  that  covered  the  dressing- 
table.  These  were  all  of  gold,  worked  and  chased  into  most  deli- 
cate designs.  The  mirror  was  set  in  a  square-cornered  frame  that 
rose  at  the  top  into  an  oval.  Before  it  lay  a  large  gold  tray,  flanked 
by  four  scent-bottles  of  carved  crystal.  Two  of  these  were  set  in 
gold  filigree  stands  of  a  shallow  boat  shape.  The  pincushion 
was  dark-blue  velvet  fitted  within  a  gold-pierced  edge.  Of  gold 
boxes  there  were  about  a  dozen,  of  every  size  and  shape,  ranging 
from  the  large  square  handkerchief-box  to  the  small,  nutlike  patch- 
box.  A  pair  of  candlesticks,  two  large  oval  hair-brushes  without 
handles,  and  a  handbell  completed  the  equipage.  From  the  dress- 
ing-room floor  rose  some  feet  high  the  magnificently  elaborate  gold 
stand  which  supported  a  lamp  and  "  dressing-kettle  "  of  the  same 
precious  metal. 

THE  QUEEN'S   DRESSING-ROOM 

The  solid  gold  hand  basin  on  the  bottom  of  which  were 
engraved  the  royal  arms,  has  a  romantic  story  attached  to  it.  It 
was  made  especially  for  the  Queen's  use  at  her  coronation,  but  after 
that  event,  "as  strange  things  will,  it  vanished,"  and  every  effort  to 
discover  it  completely  failed.  After  twenty-seven  years,  however, 
when  some  structural  alterations  were  being  executed  in  St.  James' 
Palace,  a  workman  found,  bricked  in  a  hollow  wall,  the  long-lost 
oold  hand  basin.  After  that  time  the  Queen  always  made  a  point 
of  using  it.  As  her  Majesty  did  not  possess  a  golden  ewer,  a  china 
one  that  matched  the  rest  of  the  washstand  fittings  was  used.  For 
some  reason  she  persistently  refused  to  have  a  golden  ewer  made. 

The  Queen's  bed  was  large  and  of  wood,  as  are  all  of  the  beds 
at  Windsor,  the  hangings  being  of  fine  crimson  damask.'  It  is 
most  pathetic  to  note  that  above  the  right  side  of  the  bed  there 


360  PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS 

hangs  against  the  rich  silken  background  a  portrait  of  the  late 
Prince  Consort,  surmounted  by  a  wreath  of  immortelles.  The  same 
sad  memorials  are  in  every  bedroom  that  the  Queen  ever  occupied. 
The  view  from  the  windows  of  the  Queen's  bed  and  dressing- 
rooms  is  absolutely  perfect,  embracing  as  it  does  the  incomparable 
East  Terrace,  with  the  tennis  courts  beyond,  and  in  the  distance 
Frogmore  and  the  Great  Park. 

HER    FAVORITE    BOOKS 

The  Queen  was  always  an  omnivorous  reader.  No  class  of 
literature  was  neglected  by  her.  As  a  child  she  devoured  every- 
thing that  told  of  the  making  of  English  history.  The  amount  of 
reading  got  through  by  her  each  day  was  enormous.  Her  vast 
private  correspondence,  parliamentary  reports  from  her  Ministers 
and  despatches  from  every  Government  office  were  all  read  to  her 
Majesty  by  her  private  secretary,  maid-of-honor  and  lady-in-wait- 
ing. This  in  the  way  of  business.  Books  read  for  instruction  or 
amusement  had  to  defer  to  it. 

The  Queen  was  never  tired  of  reading  Shakespeare,  Scott 
and  Dickens.  In  late  years  she  showed  keen  interest  in  Kipling, 
and  caused  word  to  be  conveyed  to  the  young  author  that  he  had 
revealed  to  her  a  great  many  things  about  certain  portions  of  her 
great  empire  that  she  never  dreamed  of  before.  With  all  her  fond- 
ness for  historical  fiction  she  took  great  interest  in  the  new  school 
of  historical  novels.  She  read  very  little  of  the  lighter  literature 
in  the  magazines  except  what  was  sent  to  her  marked  from  her 
secretary's  office.  Victor  Hugo  and  Balzac  were  her  favorite  French 
authors,  and  Schiller  her  favorite  German  poet.  Heine  she  detested 
Besides  her  ladies-in-waiting,  who  called  upon  her  in  turn  to  read 
to  her,  two  women  were  specially  retained  to  read  books  published 
only  in  French  and  German. 

The  Queen  was  not  only  a  reader,  but  an  author,  and  her 
"  Leaves  "  from  her  journal  contain  graphic  and  interesting  details 
of  her  life  in  the  Highlands,  which  give  them  a  value  additional  to 


PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS  361 

that  attaching  to  them  as  the  work  of  a  royal  hand.  Many  of  her 
descriptions  of  Scottish  scenery  and  of  incidents  at  Balmoral  and 
elsewhere  form  very  enjoyable  reading. 

A    MODEL    HOUSEKEEPER 

It  was  long  the  Queen's  boast  that  she  was  a  model  house- 
keeper. She  had  a  remarkable  memory  for  details  even  in  the 
smallest  matters  and  was  never  willing  to  relinquish  her  prerogative 
with  regard  to  the  management  of  her  servants.  Every  single 
article  of  linen,  carpets,  bedding,  curtains,  and  so  forth,  was  num- 
bered and  catalogued.  Gold  and  silver  plate  was  kept  with  the 
most  scrupulous  care,  and  the  Queen  was  familiar  with  every  detail 
of  it.  Her  gold  pantry,  with  millions  of  dollars  worth  of  gold 
plate  is  said  to  have  been  a  thing  of  beauty.  The  slightest  untidi- 
ness in  the  storerooms  was  reported  personally  to  the  Queen.  She 
would  not  tolerate  a  dowdy-looking  servant.  Here  are  twelve  rules 
hung  in  the  servants'  hall  at  Windsor : 

Profane  no  divine  ordinances. 

Touch  no  State  matters. 

Urge  no  healths. 

Pick  no  quarrels. 

Maintain  no  ill  opinions. 

Encourage  no  vice. 

Repeat  no  grievances. 

Reveal  no  secrets. 

Make  no  comparisons 

Keep  no  bad  company. 

Make  ho  long  meals. 

Lay  no  wagers. 

Another  of  the  Queen's  most  strongly-marked  fads  was  a 
mania  for  never  destroying  anything.  This  extended  not  only  to 
her  private  papers  and  letters,  but  even  to  wearing  apparel  of  the 
most  ordinary  kind.  She  expected  her  wardrobe  women  to  pro- 
duce at  short  notice  the  gown  or  bonnet  she  had  worn  on  any 


362  PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS 

particular  occasion.  The  Queen's  collection  of  clothes  would  form 
a  most  interesting  commentary  on  the  fashions  of  the  past  sixty 
years. 

She  was  always  an  enthusiastic  and  intrepid  walker  and  rider, 
and  attributed  her  longevity  mainly  to  her  capacity  for  taking 
unlimited  out-door  exercise.  In  London,  of  course,  she  could 
never  go  out  afoot,  but  in  her  country  places  half  her  time  was 
spent  out  of  doors  until  her  later  years.  She  used  to  accompany 
Prince  Albert  in  his  deer-stalking  expeditions  in  the  Highlands 
even  in  the  most  inclement  weather.  The  keepers  always  liked 
her  to  accompany  on  a  shooting  expedition  "just  for  luck."  While 
very  healthy,  she  was  not  very  strong,  and  her  growing  size  and 
weight  in  her  later  years  interfered  greatly  with  her  out-door 
exercise. 

In  her  early  married  life  she  rode  horseback  a  great  deal,  and 
in  Scotland,  for  many  years,  she  almost  lived  on  pony  back.  Her 
stables  at  Buckingham  Palace  and  at  Windsor  always  were  a 
source  of  great  pride,  and  it  gave  her  pleasure  to  give  persons  who 
were  really  fond  of  horses  permission  to  visit  them.  All  the  horses 
in  the  Queen's  stables  were  given  special  training  before  any  of  the 
royal  family  were  permitted  to  use  them.  They  were  taught  to 
bear  with  equanimity  the  beat  of  drums  and  the  shrieks  of  fifes  and 
bagpipes. 

The  Queen  had  a  genuine  love  for  almost  all  animals.  Her 
kennels  were  models  of  what  healthy  and  cleanly  houses  for  dogs 
should  be.  She  liked  to  breed  dogs  to  give  away  as  presents.  The 
collie  was  her  favorite,  and  she  owned  several  fine  specimens  of  this 
breed.  For  many  years  her  cattle  farms  at  Windsor  produced 
some  of  the  finest  prize  stock  in  the  world,  and  she  took  the  live- 
liest interest  in  the  magnificent  animals  bred  by  her  keepers. 

If  it  is  desirable  to  end  a  chapter  with  an  anecdote,  the  follow- 
ing story  may  be  relished  :  In  the  days  when  the  Queen's  children 
were  young,  Christmas  was  a  great  day  in  the  royal  household.  In 
particular  everybody  had  a  hand  in  making  the  monster  pudding 


PALACE  LIFE  AND  ROYAL  ENTERTAINMENTS          363 

that  was  subsequently  to  grace  the  Christmas  table,  and  great  fun 
was  invariably  extracted  out  of  the  proceedings.  But  never  did 
the  mirth  rise  to  such  a  pitch  as  on  one  memorable  occasion  when 
the  Princess  Beatrice,  then  the  tiniest  of  toddlers,  in  reaching  down 
into  the  recesses  of  the  pan  after  a  piece  of  candied  peel,  over- 
balanced her  chubby  little  self,  and  tipped  headforemost  into  the 
yielding  mixture. 

She  was  rescued  in  a  moment,  but  not  before  her  fair,  curly 
pate  and  face  were  a  sticky  mass  of  currants,  raisins,  peel,  and 
spice.  Perhaps  the  royal  family  never  enjoyed  a  heartier  laugh 
together,  and  certainly  Princess  Beatrice  never  screamed  so  loudly ! 

Shall  we  mate  this  story  with  another  relating  to  the  Princess 
Victoria,  after  she  became  Crown  Princess  of  Germany,  as  illustra- 
tive of  the  way  in  which  the  Queen  brought  up  her  children  ?  The 
free  and  easy  ways  of  the  young  Princess  were  not  in  accord  with 
German  notions  of  Court  etiquette.  One  day,  on  the  Princess 
catching  up  a  chair  and  carrying  it  across  the  room,  a  very  proper 
and  courtly  lady,  the  Countess  Perponchez,  was  so  shocked  that 
she  could  not  refrain  from  uttering  a  remonstrance. 

"It  is  beneath  the  dignity  of  a  Prussian  princess  to  carry 
chairs  ! "  she  said. 

"  But  let  me  inform  you,  my  dear  countess,"  answered  our 
Princess  Royal,  smiling,  "  that  my  mother  being,  as  you  know, 
Queen  of  England— 

"  I  am  aware  of  the  fact,"  said  the  Prussian  lady. 

"  Then,  allow  me,  my  dear  countess,  to  make  you  aware  of 
another  fact.  Her  Majesty,  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain,  very  often 
carried  a  chair.  Indeed,  incredible  as  the  thing  may  seem,  I  have 
myself  actually  seen  her  Majesty,  the  Queen,  carry  not  one  only, 
but  two  chairs !  They  were  for  her  children  ;  and  I  think  that 
which  never  lowered  my  mother's  queenly  dignity  cannot  hurt  that 
of  her  daughter." 


CHAPTER    XXI 

The    Diamond   Jubilee 

WE  have  already  told  the  story  of  Victoria's  Jubilee,  held  in 
honor  of  the  fiftieth  year  of  her  reign.  This  honor  she 
shared  with  three  preceding  monarchs.  She  lived  to 
celebrate  another  year  of  jubilee,  held  on  the  completion  of  the 
sixtieth  year  of  her  reign,  and  in  which  honor  she  stood  alone, 
no  preceding  Sovereign  of  England  reigning  through  so  long  a 
period.  George  III.,  who  came  nearest,  died  a  few  months  before 
the  completion  of  this  period,  a  wreck  of  a  man,  blind  and  hope- 
lessly insane.  Victoria  alone  lived  to  see  the  celebration  of  her 
"  Diamond  Jubilee,"  still  strong  and  well,  and  capable  of  fulfilling 
all  the  duties  of  her  exalted  position. 

UNPARALLELED    GLORY    AND    PROSPERITY 

While  Victoria's  reign  was  unique  as  regarded  its  length,  the 
estimable  character  and  noble  example  of  the  Sovereign  herself,  the 
steady  and  varied  advancement  which  signalized  her  era,  and  the 
vast  extension  of  her  empire,  combined  to  render  her  Diamond 
Jubilee  an  event  without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  nation. 
Archdeacon  Sinclair  well  said  concerning  it : 

"The  people  of  England  desire,  in  the  most  emphatic  manner 
possible,  to  express  their  gratitude  to  God  for  the  unparalleled  glory 
and  prosperity  of  the  sixty  splendid  years  of  the  Queen's  long  reign, 
and  to  her  Majesty  for  her  admirable  and  luminous  example  during 
that  protracted  period,  and  in  that  exalted  station  as  Sovereign, 
wife,  and  mother." 

To  this  we  may  add  the  words  of  the  Hon.  Joseph  Chamber- 
lain, now  so  well  known  as   England's  Secretary  of  State  for  the 
Colonies  : — 
364 


THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE  365 

"  The  completion  of  the  sixtieth  year  of  the  reign  of  the 
Queen  marks  an  absolutely  unparalleled  chapter  in  the  history  of  our 
country.  No  Monarch  in  England  has  reigned  so  long,  no  Mon- 
arch has  reigned  so  well  and  so  \visely,  none  have  enjoyed  so  con- 
tinuously and  so  increasingly  the  love  and  the  respect  of  their  sub- 
jects ;  in  no  previous  reign  has  there  been  such  progress,  especially 
in  all  that  conduces  to  the  prosperity  and  the  happiness  of  the 
masses  of  the  population  ;  in  no  period  of  like  extent  has  there 
ever  been  so  great  an  extension  of  this  Empire  of  ours. 

THREE    HUNDRED    AND   FIFTY   MILLIONS   OF    PEOPLE 

"Our  great  dependency  of  India  has  testified  in  the  past,  and 
again  will  testify  the  loyalty  of  its  population  to  the  Empress  who 
has  always  shown  such  a  marked  interest  in  their  welfare  and  hap- 
piness. But  those  things  have  happened  before.  What  has  not 
happened  before,  what  has  never  happened  in  the  history  of  this 
century,  has  been  to  secure  a  personal  representation  of  the  Em- 
pire as  a  whole,  of  the  Empire  with  its  more  than  eleven  millions 
of  square  miles  of  territory,  and  with  its  three  hundred  and  fifty 
millions  of  people,  with  their  different  religions,  their  different 
constitutions,  their  separate  manners  and  customs,  all  united  solely 
by  the  bond  of  allegiance  to  the  Queen  of  these  realms. 

"A  proposal  has  been  made  and  is  being  carried  out  to  secure 
such  a  demonstration,  and  an  invitation  has  been  addressed  to  the 
Prime  Ministers  of  all  the  self-governing  Colonies  of  the  Empire 
to  come  to  England  and  to  take  part  in  this  unique  ceremonial. 
These  gentlemen  will  come  here  as  the  guests  of  the  Queen.  And 
who  are  they?  They  are  the  rulers  of  Kingdoms  almost  all 
of  which  are  larger  than  the  United  Kingdom  itself  and  all  of 
them  inhabited  by  considerable  populations  that  are  destined  to 
become,  at  no  distant  date,  great  nations,  animated,  as  I  hope  and 
believe,  by  affection  and  regard  for  the  great  mother  land  that 
has  given  them  birth." 


366  THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE 

"  We  shall  have  at  the  same  time  a  representation  of  the  great 
Crown  Colonies,  with  their  infinite  variety  of  climate  and  of  produc- 
tion, and  in  this  way  we  will  secure  a  demonstration  that  no  other 
country  can  make,  a  demonstration  of  power,  of  influence,  and  of 
beneficient  work  which  will  be  a  fitting  tribute  to  the  best  and  the 
most  revered  of  English  sovereigns." 

It  was  thought  that  the  semi-centennial  of  her  accession  would 
be  the  crowning  demonstration  of  Victoria's  reign;  but  when  her 
sovereignty  was  continued  ten  years  longer,  it  was  determined 
to  celebrate  the  completion  of  that  term  with  ceremonies  even 
grander  and  more  elaborate.  The  Diamond  Jubilee  was,  perhaps, 
the  most  conspicuous  demonstration  in  the  whole  of  the  nineteenth 
century. 

The  observance  lasted  a  month.  It  began  on  June  18,  1897, 
at  Windsor.  Two  days  later  a  special  thanksgiving  service  was 
held  in  all  churches  and  chapels  in  England  and  Wales  for  the 
Queen's  long  reign.  At  noon  on  the  following  day  her  Majesty 
left  Windsor  Castle  and  traveled  to  London  in  a  special  carriage, 
so  superbly  appointed  and  clecorated  as  to  be  itself  one  of  the  many 
sights  of  that  gala  time.  The  station  at  Paddington  was  richly  and 
beautifully  adorned  for  her  reception,  and  from  there  to  Bucking- 
ham Palace  the  Queen  drove  through  long-extended  lanes  of  cheer- 
ing crowds,  triumphal  arches,  and  waving  bunting.  At  four  o'clock 
she  received  the  representatives  of  the  Empire  and  the  envoys  of 
foreign  States  in  the  Throne  Room  of  the  Palace,  conferring  on  the 
colonies  the  unprecedented  honor  of  calling  their  chiefs  to  her 
Imperial  Privy  Council. 

The  next  day  was  the  greatest  of  all  the  days  of  her  reign.  It 
focused  at  one  time  and  in  a  single  spot  the  gathered  glory  of  six 
noble  decades.  All  that  was  meant  by  England  and  Great  Britain, 
all  that  the  Victorian  era  signified,  was  concentrated  in  that  22d  of 
June,  Queen  Victoria's  Day. 

It  began  early.  The  last  stroke  of  twelve  had  not  died  away 
in  the  midnight  air  when  from  a  hundred  metropolitan  steeples  a 


s.  r 


c  ° 

E-  ° 

IV  k_. 

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c  W 

D  W 


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ffl   2 


Si 


W  "5 

D  IS 

fj 

X  '= 

5 


THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE  369 

tumultuous  peal  of  bells  announced  Diamond  Jubilee  Day.  The 
vast  crowd  that  filled  the  miles  of  streets  and  squares  answered  with 
ringing  cheers  and  here  and  there  the  singing  of  "  God  Save  the 
Queen!" 

The  crowds  that  peopled  the  streets  and  squares  all  night  in  the 
hope  of  a  good  view  of  the  procession  the  next  day  were  amazing  in 
their  patience.  Waiting  for  twelve,  fourteen,  and  sixteen  hours,  as 
many  of  these  people  did,  was  a  feat  of  endurance  that  couM  only 
be  sustained  by  some  overmastering  desire.  Fully  half  of  these 
jubilee  waiters  were  women,  many  with  the  pale,  careworn  look  of 
the  London  worker,  yet  all  enduring  the  tedious  waiting  with  utmost 
good  nature.  Some  had  camp  stools,  some  sat  on  projections  of 
buildings  or  curbstones,  or  leaned  in  doorways  and  the  angles  made 
by  stands.  During  the  long  hours  snatches  of  song  and  occasional 
bursts  of  cheering  showed  that  the  people  were  determined  to  enjoy 
the  festival  of  patriotism  and  loyalty  to  the  utmost. 

A  clear  starlit  sky  and  cool  air  kept  up  the  spirits  of  the  crowd 
throughout  the  vigil.  With  dawn  the  hope  of  Queen's  weather 
merged  into  certainty,  and  the  world  there  prepared  in  confidence 
for  a  day  of  pleasure. 

The  earliest  active  indication  of  the  great  event — apart  from  the 
people  awaiting  it — was  the  arrival  of  vestry  carts  to  gravel  freshly 
the  roadways,  after  the  fashion  which  prevailed  in  the  good  old  days 
of  Sam  Pepys.  A  little  later  the  police  began  to  arrive  in  great 
numbers,  8000  being  distributed  along  the  line  of  route.  The 
streets  on  the  north  side  of  the  Thames  were  closed  to  ordinary 
vehicles  at  7.30,  and  on  the  south  side  at  8  o'clock ;  London 
Bridge  had  been  closed  to  all  traffic  at  midnight,  and  Westminster 
Bridge  and  other  bridges  between  at  5  o'clock  that  morning,  when 
all  persons  were  removed  from  them. 

The  first  great  difficulty  of  the  police  was  assisting  owners  of 
seats  on  stands  and  houses  to  get  to  them,  they  being  permitted  to 
drive  to  them  up  to  10  o'clock,  for  there  was  a  vast  interval  between 
a  title  to  a  seat  and  actual  possession. 


j?o  THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE 

The  crowds  on  the  sidewalks  were  willing  to  give  passage  to 
the  favored  mortals  who  owned  seats,  but  to  do  so  was  difficult. 
The  difficulty  was  further  increased  by  the  arrival  of  the  troops, 
taking  their  appointed  places.  The  wise,  however,  had  early  taken 
their  seats  in  stands  or  obtained  access  to  the  houses  where  they 
had  bought  windows.  It  was  only  the  late-comers  who  had  to  push 
and  struggle — in  the  case  of  ladies  much  to  the  damage  of  their  toil- 
ettes. Finally  many  of  the  late-comers  were  peremptorily  shut  out, 
and  everybody  settled  down  to  wait. 

MR.    HOPKINS    DESCRIBES    THE    SCENE 

Mr.  Hopkins,  the  distinguished  Canadian  author,  gives  a  picture 
of  the  scene : 

"With  the  dawn  of  light  on  the  22d  of  June  everything  was  in 
readiness  for  the  greatest  celebration  and  function  the  world  has 
seen.  The  decorations  were  completed,  and  the  Jubilee  colors  of 
red,  white,  and  blue  were  to  be  seen  in  every  direction,  and  in  every 
form  of  varied  beauty  or  ugliness.  Costly  flowers  and  tinsel  imita- 
tions, fir  and  evergreen  and  laurel,  pennons,  shields  and  standards, 
Venetian  masts  and  wreaths  and  festoons,  colored  globes  and  bal- 
loons, garlands  and  myriad  flags,  everywhere  presented  a  brilliant 
wall  of  color,  behind  and  above,  and  around  a  vast  sea  of  faces 
along  the  six  miles  which  the  procession  was  to  take.  Without  any 
serious  accident,  without  disorder  or  apparent  difficulty,  the  millions 
of  spectators  were  placed  in  line  or  seat  to  await  the  commencement 
of  the  day's  proceedings.  At  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  the  stands  and 
seats  prepared  for  them  soon  held  the  great  and  representative  per- 
sonages of  British  life  and  modern  achievement.  The  brilliant 
robes  of  the  peers,  the  beautiful  dresses  of  the  peeresses  and  a 
myriad  other  ladies,  the  lawn  sleeves  and  somber  gowns  of  the 
bishops  of  the  church,  the  diplomatic  uniforms  of  varied  color  and 
degrees  of  brilliance,  the  splendid  robes  of  the  Catholic  clergy,  the 
quieter  dresses  of  the  commoners  and  dissenting  ministers,  the 
scarlet  uniforms  of  the  officers,  the  jeweled  and  superb  costumes 


THE  1)1  A  JL'lULl  3?i 

of  Indian  princes,  and  the  stately  gold-laced  'garb  of  the  privy, 
councilors  mixed  and  merged  into  one  blaze  of  gorgeous  color. 

"Above  this  display  of  individual  splendor  towered  the  Corin- 
thian columns  and  turrets  of  the  great  cathedral.  In  front,  and 
down  through  Ludgate  Hill,  winding  along  Fleet  Street  and  the 
ever-crowded  Strand,  stretched  a  long  and  longer  avenue,  lined  with 
column  after  column  of  the  best  troops  of  England — a  thin  red  line 
now  prepared  to  meet  and  honor  its  sovereign,  as  it  ever  is  to 
defend  the  interests  and  integrity  of  the  empire.  Through  this  line 
of  scarlet  from  Victoria  Embankment  and  Pall  Mall "  was  to  come 
the  great  procession.  London  was  the  scene  that  day  of  a  pageant 
of  imposing  dimensions.  Gathered  in  the  city  was  the  largest 
aggregation  of  human  beings  ever  assembled  in  one  place. 

The  Queen  breakfasted  at  9  o'clock,  and  informed  her  physician 
that  she  was  not  fatigued  by  the  ceremonies  of  the  preceding  day. 

Already  at  that  hour,  in  the  great  quadrangle  of  the  palace, 
there  were  many  signs  of  the  coming  ceremonial.  Gorgeously 
attired  servants  gathered  near  the  scarlet-carpeted  staircase,  which 
was  lined  by  rare  flowers,  while  the  strains  of  the  national  anthem, 
as  a  band  passed  the  palace,  announced  that  the  Colonials  had 
started. 

DIGNITARIES    IN    ATTENDANCE 

At  the  same  time  the  special  envoys  who  were  to  take  part  in 
the  procession  began  arriving  in  the  quadrangle.  Whitelaw  Reid, 
the  United  States  special  envoy,  was  the  first  to  appear.  He  drove 
in,  accompanied  by  one  of  the  royal  equeries,  all  in  gold,  scarlet, 
and  feathers.  Mr.  Reid  was  quietly  attired,  wearing  an  Inverness 
coat,  an  opera  hat,  and  a  white  tie.  He  drove  up  to  the  great  door 
of  the  palace,  where  he  was  escorted  to  the  waiting-room  by  the 
master  of  the  ceremonies.  Later  General  Nelson  A.  Miles,  repre- 
senting the  United  States  army,  rode  up  on  a  splendid  horse  and  in 
full  uniform. 

The  minor  royalties  next  dropped  in,  followed  by  richly  capar- 
isoned steeds,  intended  for  the  use  of  the  princes.  The  arrival  of 


372  THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE 

the  princes  who  were  to  take  part  in  the  escort  formed  a  splendid 
picture,  full  of  color.  The  quaint-looking  Crown  Prince  Danilo  of 
Montenegro,  with  black,  glossy  hair,  under  a  dull  crimson  cap  and 
wearing  a  crimson  jacket  heavily  embroidered  with  gold,  and  with 
full,  short,  pale-blue  skirts,  was  greeted  by  the  German  princes,  who 
were  in  fine  military  uniforms. 

The  Grand  Duke  Sergius  of  Russia,  a  man  of  the  heavy 
Romanoff  type,  was  eclipsed  in  appearance  by  the  gorgeous 
Austrians  and  Hungarians  in  scarlet  and  gold,  with  white  hussar 
jackets,  lined  with  pale  blue  and  fastened  to  their  left  shoulders, 
their  striking  attire  being  completed  by  high  fur  caps  and  stiff 
plumes.  The  brother  of  the  Khedive  of  Egypt,  Mohammed  AH 
Khan,  was  mounted  on  a  pure  white  Arabian  charger  which  was 
greatly  admired. 

The  Duke  of  Cambridge,  carrying  his  field-marshal's  baton  and 
wearing  the  ribbon  of  the  Garter  across  his  portly  person,  next 
arrived,  and  after  him  came  the  Lord  Chamberlain,  the  Earl  of 
Lothian,  and  a  score  of  white  wand  chamberlains  attired  in  the 
darkest  of  blue,  smothered  with  gold.  They  mingled  with  the  crowd 
and  later  passed  up  the  staircase.  Eleven  royal  landaus  then 
arrived  and  were  mustered  in  the  center  of  the  quadrangle.  Each 
carriage  was  a  show  in  itself,  forming,  with  its  brilliant  assembly  of 
escorting  horsemen  and  footmen,  a  most  gorgeous  display. 

A  preliminary  gleam  of  the  sun  pierced  through  the  clouds  at 
this  hour,  touching  everything  with  bright  light  and  making  the 
scene  a  grand  feast  of  color. 

By  10.20  the  envoys'  carriages  were  filled,  and  took  up  their 
position  in  the  center  of  the  quadrangle.  Soon  afterwards  the 
Queen's  superb  coach  arrived.  It  had  hardly  come  to  a  standstill 
when  the  landaus,  with  the  ladies  and  lords  in  waiting  and  the 
princesses,  were  in  their  alloted  positions.  All  the  ladies  wore  light 
toilettes  of  blue,  green,  lilac,  and  pink. 

The  envoys'  landaus  started,  after  which  the  princes  mounted 
their  horses  and  ranged  themselves  in  groups  of  threes. 


THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE  373 

The  carriage  of  the  ex-Empress  Frederick  of  Germany,  who 
was  dressed  in  lilac  and  carried  a  white  sunshade,  waited  until  after 
the  others  had  gone,  while  the  Duke  of  Cambridge  chatted  with  her 
Highness.  In  the  mean  while  a  platoon  of  the  royal  servants  lined 
up  on  each  side  of  the  great  door,  and  an  inclining  platform  from 
the  foot  of  the  stairs  to  the  place  to  be  occupied  by  the  Queen's 
coach  was  placed  in  position  and  carefully  tested  by  a  Scotch  gillie. 

ARRIVAL    OF    THE    PRINCE     AND    PRINCESS    OF    WALES 

A  hoarse  roar  of  cheers,  quickly  followed  by  the  royal  anthem, 
played  by  the  band  outside  of  Buckingham  Palace,  announced  the 
arrival  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales.  The  Prince  wore  the 
uniform  of  a  field-marshal.  The  Princess  was  dressed  in  pale  lilac, 
and  wore  a  lilac  bonnet  with  white  feathers.  The  Prince  of  Wales 
mounted  by  the  scarlet-covered  steps  to  the  entrance  of  the  palace, 
and  then  the  Queen's  carriage  was  drawn  into  position.  It  was  what 
is  known  as  "No.  i  plain  posting  landau,"  a  carriage  with  a  light- 
running  body,  built  about  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  and  of  which 
her  Majesty  was  known  to  be  very  fond.  The  body  was  dark  claret, 
lined  with  vermilion,  the  moldings  outlined  with  beads  of  brass. 
Brass  beads  decorated  the  rumble,  and  the  body  loops  and  lamp 
irons  were  gilt.  The  wheels  and  underworks  were  vermilion,  with 
heavy  lines  of  gold. 

The   carriao-e   was    drawn    by  the    famous    eigrht    Hanoverian 

o  J  o 

creams,  cream  in  color,  with  long  tails,  white,  almost  fish-like  eyes, 
and  pink  noses,  their  manes  richly  woven  with  ribbons  of  royal  blue. 
They  wore  their  new  State  harness  saddle  cloths  of  royal  blue  velvet, 
with  rich  fringes  of  bullion,  the  leather  work  red  morocco  above  and 
blue  morocco  beneath,  glittering  everywhere  with  the  royal  arms — 
the  lion,  the  unicorn,  and  the  crown  in  gold. 

The  liveries  of  the  postilions  were  in  keeping  with  the  harness 
and  had  cost  $600  a  piece.  They  consisted  of  scarlet  and  gold 
coats,  white  trousers,  and  riding  boots.  For  once  since  the  Prince 
Consort's  death  the  Queen  permitted  the  mourning  band  to  be 


374  THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEt. 

removed  from  the  men's  arms  :  there  was  no  note  of  sorrow.  Each 
of  the  horses  was  led  by  a  "walking  man  "  in  the  royal  livery  and 
a  huntsman's  black  velvet  cap. 

At  11.10  A.M.  a  bustle  on  the  main  staircase  announced  the 
coming  of  her  Majesty. 

Queen  Victoria  slowly  descended  the  stairs,  assisted  by  a 
scarlet-clad  and  white-turbaned  Indian  attendant.  She  was  dressed 
in  black,  wore  a  black  bonnet  trimmed  with  white,  and  carried  a 
white  sunshade.  At  the  foot  of  the  stairway  her  Majesty  paused  for 
a  minute,  and  touched  an  electric  button  connected  with  all  the 
telegraph  systems  throughout  the  British  empire,  and  it  flashed 
around  the  world,  to  forty  British  governments  and  peoples,  this 
simultaneous  message : 

o 

"From  my  heart  I  thank  my  beloved  people.  May  God  bless 
them!" 

Her  Majesty  then  slowly  seated  herself  in  her  carriage,  and  the 
royal  trumpeters  sounded  a  fanfare.  The  Princess  of  Wales  and 
Princess  Christian  of  Schleswig-Holstein  joined  the  Queen,  seating 
themselves  opposite  her  Majesty,  and  the  Queen's  coach  started. 

Two  gillies  in  Highland  costume,  \vearing  the  tartan  of  Mac- 
Donald  of  the  Isles,  the  so-called  Crown  Prince  of  Scotland,  occu- 
pied the  rumble. 

As  her  Majesty  emerged  from  the  portico  the  sun  broke  brightly 
through  the  clouds,  and  the  Queen  raised  her  sunshade.  At  the 
same  time  the  royal  salute  was  fired,  announcing  to  the  waiting  mil- 
lions that  her  Majesty  was  on  her  way  through  London. 


Immediately  preceding  the  royal  carriage  rode  Lord  Wolseley 
as  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Army.  The  Prince  of  Wales,  the 
Duke  of  Cambridge,  and  the  Duke  of  Connaught  rode  to  their 
places  about  her  Majesty's  carriage,  and  the  latter  took  its  place  in 
the  procession.  The  Queen  then  rode  in  state  from  Buckingham 
Palace  through  seven  miles  of  streets  gayly  decorated,  and  lined  by 


THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE  375 

throngs  of  enthusiastic  spectators.  Probably  five  millions  of  people 
awaited  her  arrival  in  London  alone. 

The  jubilee  procession  was  practically  in  three  sections  as  far 
as  St.  Paul's,  though  the  last  two  en  route  to  the  Cathedral  were 
consolidated  as  they  moved  into  Piccadilly.  The  first  to  take  up 
position  was  the  colonial  procession,  which  formed  on  the  embank- 
ment and  moved  via  the  Mall,  past  the  palace,  where  her  Majesty 
viewed  it  from  a  window,  over  the  route  to  St.  Paul's. 

The  march  began  at  9.45,  and  the  great  cortege  proved  a  wel- 
come relief  to  the  waiting  multitude.  For  the  colonies  were  living 
pictures,  presenting  in  tangible  shape  the  extent  of  the  Queen's 
sway.  The  procession,  after  some  police,  was  headed  by  an  advance 
party  of  the  Royal  Horse  Guards.  Then  followed  the  band  of  the 
same  corps,  playing  the  "  Washington  Post  March."  Next  came 
Lord  Frederick  (now  General  Earl)  Roberts,  commanding  the 
colonial  troops,  with  Colonel  Iver  Herbert,  of  the  Grenadier  Guards, 
second  in  command.  The  trim,  upright  figure  of  the  popular 
general,  his  breast  covered  with  orders,  sitting  his  charger  in  the 
most  soldier-like  manner,  elicited  shouts  of  "  Hurrah  for  Bobs  !  " 

Close  after  him  came  the  Canadian  Hussars  and  the  picturesque 
Northwest  mounted  police,  as  escort  to  the  first  Colonial  Premier  to 
win  a  round  of  cheers — Wilfrid  Laurier,  of  Canada. 

The  New  South  Wales  Lancers  and  the  Mounted  Rifles,  with 
their  gray  semi-sombreros  and  black  cock's  plumes,  succeeded  them, 
escorting  the  Premier  of  New  South  Wales,  S.  H.  Reid. 

The  Victorian  mounted  troops  followed,  smart,  weather-beaten 
fellows,  in  unattractive  brownish  uniforms,  succeeded  by  the  New 
v( -aland  mounted  contingent,  a  fine-looking,  sunburned  lot,  drawn 
from  almost  every  town  of  any  importance  in  the  colony.  A  number 
of  Maoris  rode  with  these,  their  black  faces  exciting  the  greatest  in- 
terest. They  escorted  the  New  Zealand  Premier,  Richard  J.  Seddon. 

The  Queensland  mounted  infantry  came  next,  in  their  khaki 
tunics  and  scarlet  facings,  and  then  the  Premier  of  Queensland,  Sir 
H.  M.  Nelson.  For  the  moment  Australia  gave  way  to  Africa,  and 


376  THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE 

the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  Mounted  Rifles — well-set-up  men  wearing 
the  scarlet,  with  white  helmets — rode  by,  accompanying  the  Cape 
Premier,  Sir  J.  Gordon  Sprigg. 

Then  came  the  South  Australian  mounted  troops,  lean,  long 
specimens  of  wiry  manhood,  dressed  in  khaki  tunics  of  yellowish 
brown,  lit  with  bright  scarlet,  a  blazing  pugree  on  the  spiked  hel- 
mets, and  double  stripes  down  the  seams  of  tightly  fitting  corduroy 
trousers,  with  large  chamois  leather  patches  where  the  knee  gripped 
the  saddle. 

The  Premier  of  New  Foundland,  SirW.  V.  Whiteway,  followed^ 
and  after  him  came  the  Premier  of  Tasmania,  Sir  Eric  Braddon. 
The  Natal  mounted  troops,  similar  in  equipment  to  the  Cape 
brothers-in-arms,  escorted  H.  M.  Hescombe,  the  Premier  of  Natal, 
who  was  followed  by  Sir  J.  Forrest,  Premier  of  Western  Australia. 

Then  succeeded  an  attractive  display — mounted  troops  of  the 
Crown  Colonies,  the  Rhodesian  Horse,  and  the  Colonial  Infantry, 

* 

broken  by  three  bands,  typical  of  the  United  Kingdom,  those  of 
St.  George's,  the  London  Scottish,  and  the  London  Irish  Rifle  Vol- 
unteer Corps.  The  colonial  contingent  included  local  militia  of 
Hong  Kong,  Singapore,  Ceylon,  Mauritius,  Jamaica,  St  Lucia,  Ber- 
muda, and  the  Royal  Malta  Artillery  Corps  ;  Hong  Kong,  Singa- 
pore, Ceylon,  Mauritius,  Jamaica,  and  Royal  Malta  Submarine  Mining 
Companies  of  the  Royal  Engineers  ;  the  West  India  Fortress  Com- 
pany of  Royal  Engineers  ;  the  West  India  Infantry  regiment ;  the 
Hong  Kong  regiment  and  the  Royal  Malta  regiment  of  militia. 

CONTINGENT    FROM    CANADA 

Then  there  passed  the  splendid  contingent  from  Canada  in- 
fantry, 175  strong,  uniformed  somewhat  like  the  regular  service 
infantry,  with  Colonel  Alymer  leading.  Much  applause  was 
bestowed  on  these  men,  who  in  every  way  kept  the  Dominion  to 
the  front. 

Following  these  came  the  real  oddities  in  the  eyes  of  Lon- 
doners, of  which  the  Zaptiehs  from  Cyprus  divided  honors  with  the 


HAWARDEN  CASTLE 
The  Home  of  the  Queen's  Great  Minister,  William  E.  Gladstone 


HATFIELD  HOUSE 
The  Home  of  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  the  Queen's  last  Prime  Minister 


THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE  379 

Dyaks  of  Borneo.  Both  are  military  police.  The  Zaptiehs  were 
mounted  on  island  ponies  and  wore  the  Turkish  fez,  with  a  jacket 
suggestive  of  Constantinople.  The  Borneo  Dyaks,  yellow-colored 
and  small,  were  eagerly  awaited  by  the  crowd,  owing  to  their  head- 
hunting proclivities. 

Notable  also  were  the  Hong  Kong  police,  Chinamen  with 
strange,  saucepan-like  hats  inverted  over  their  immutable  yellow 
faces. 

The  Trinidad  Field  Artillery  ;  the  Sierra  Leone  militia,  with  their 
strange,  small  blue  turbans  and  depending  tassels  and  knicker- 
bockers ;  the  British  Guiana  police,  with  their  white-curtained  caps  ; 
the  Haussas,  in  the  familiar  Zouave  costumes  of  long  ago,  and  the 
Royal  Niger  Haussas, — men  who  fought  at  Ilorin  and  Bida, — in 
uniforms  of  Kharkill  cloth,  trousers  exposing  the  leg,  and  shaved 
heads,  were  all  blacks.  The  Haussas,  the  blackest  of  the  blacks, 
wearing  "the  burnished  livery  of  the  sun,"  were  enthusiastically 
greeted. 

The  procession  ended  as  it  began,  appropriately,  by  defenders 
from  Canada — the  rest  of  the  Northwest  mounted  police.  The 
second  procession  passed  the  palace  fifty  minutes  after  the  Colonials 
had  climbed  Constitution  Hill.  It  was  the  military  parade,  and  elo- 
quently filled  up  the  picture  of  Britain's  war  strength. 

It  was  a  carnival  of  gorgeous  costume  and  color — scarlet  and 
blue  and  gold,  white  and  yellow ;  shining  cuirasses  and  polished 
helmets  ;  plumes  and  tassels  ;  furs  and  gold  and  silver  spangled 
cloths ;  bullion  embroideries  and  accoutrements  ;  splendid  trap- 
pings for  horses,  and  more  splendid  trappings  for  men  ;  sashes  and 
stars;  crosses  and  medals — medals  for  the  Crimea,  Indian,  Seringa- 
patam,  the  Nile,  Ashanti,  Afghanistan,  Chitral,  South  Africa,  China, 
and  dozens  of  others,  and  here  and  there  the  finest  of  them  all,  the 
most  highly  prized  the  world  can  show,  the  Victoria  cross  ;  death- 
dealing  weapons — swords  and  revolvers,  carbines  and  cutlasses  ; 
batteries  of  artillery;  men  of  splendid  physique  and  horses  with 
rare  action,  who  fully  entered  into  the  spirit  of  it  all,  the  fondly  car- 


380  THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE 

ried  colors  for  which  these  men  would  die,  and,  over  all,  the  rich 
strains  of  that  music  they  loved  to  hear.  The  sight  was  one  to  stir 
the  blood. 

The  procession  was  led  by  Captain  Ames,  of  the  Second  Life 
Guards,  one  of  the  tallest  men  in  the  British  Army,  who,  by  the 
special  wish  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  rode  in  front  of  the  procession. 
He  was  followed  by  four  of  the  tallest  troopers  in  that  regiment  of 
very  tall  men.  The  naval  brigade  followed,  wearing  straw  hats  and 
carrying  drawn  cutlasses.  They  met  with  a  rousing  reception. 

As  the  soldiers  wound  out  of  sight  to  wait  for  the  Queen's  pro- 
cession on  Constitution  Hill,  it  seemed  like  nothing  so  much  as  some 
stream  of  burnished  gold,  flowing  between  dark  banks  of  human 
beings. 

REVIEWED    BY    THE    QUEEN 

The  empire  had  passed  in  review,  the  army  and  navy  had  been 
shown  in  its  panoplied  strength,  the  head  of  it  all  was  now  to  come 
— her  Majesty. 

The  military  portion  of  the  royal  procession  proper  formed  at 
Hyde  Park,  and  marched  round  by  Belgrave  Square  to  the  palace, 
where  it  was  interwoven  with  the  crowd  of  waiting  dignitaries  of  all 
sorts.  When  ready,  it  moved  to  join  the  rear  of  the  military  proces- 
sion. First  came  nine  naval  aides-de-camp,  including  Lord  Charles 
Beresford  ;  then  followed  the  military  aides-de-camp  to  the  Queen, 
among  these  being  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  the  Dukes  of 
Cambridge  and  Connaught.  Then  followed  alone  the  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant of  London,  the  Duke  of  Westminster,  followed  by  a  glitter- 
ing cavalcade  of  officers,  among  whom  were  Sir  Redvers  Buller  and 
General  Sir  Evelyn  Wood. 

Next  came  three  officers  of  the  auxiliary  forces  in  attendance 
on  the  Prince  of  Wales,  equeries,  gentlemen-in-waiting  and  military 
attaches,  foreign  naval  and  military  attaches,  in  alphabetical  order, 
beginning  with  Austria  and  ending  with  the  United  States,  followed 
by  General  Nelson  A.  Miles,  representing  the  United  States  Army, 
and  General  Lagron,  representing  President  Faure,  of  France. 


THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE  381 

Most  of  the  foreigners  were  men  with  a  glittering  array  of  titles, 
uniformed  in  the  dresses  of  all  the  courts  of  Europe  and  half  its 
crack  regiments,  and  wearing  all  its  stars. 

Then,  as  a  compliment  from  the  Kaiser,  followed  a  deputation 
from  the  First  Prussian  Dragoon  Guards,  splendid  looking  men, 
quite  able  to  live  up  to  the  Kaiser's  reputation  for  turning  out  fine 
soldiers.  .  , 

Following  these  came  the  most  brilliant  group  of  all  the  soldiery, 
the  officers  of  the  Imperial  Service  Troops  from  India,  in  their  uni- 
forms,— a  mixture  of  the  English  regular  army  and  native  dress, — 
brilliant  to  a  degree  not  to  be  witnessed  outside  of  countries  where 
barbaric  splendor  and  ingenuity  in  embroidery  is  the  rule.  Most  of 
the  men  were  swarthy  featured  fellows,  bearded,  and  wearing  won- 
drously  twisted  turbans  in  colors  and  cloths  of  gold.  Their  tunics 
were  of  scarlet  or  blue  or  white  or  green,  laced  and  interlaced  with 
gold  or  silver.  Many  wore  broad  sashes,  or  "  kammerbands,"  in 
radiant  colors,  and  most  of  them  white  breeches  with  Napoleon 
boots  ;  many  also  wore  massive  gold  earrings  with  enormous  stones, 
while  some  wore,  in  addition,  gold  anklets  ablaze  with  sapphires  and 
emeralds. 

The  special  envoys  not  numbered  among  the  princes  followed 
the  Indians,  riding  in  two-horse  landaus,  painted  lake  and  vermilion, 
with  heavy  lines  of  gold  in  the  vermilion  running  gear,  with  scarlet 
and  purple  hammer  cloths,  and  lined  with  blue-figured  rep.  The 
royal  arms  were  on  the  panels  and  royal  crowns  on  the  tops.  The 
horses  were  high-stepping  bays.  A  gorgeous  coachman  sat  in 
each  box,  clad  in  royal  scarlet,  white  knee-breeches,  and  silk  stock- 
ings, his  head  bewiggecl  with  white  horsehair  and  crowned  with  a 
magnificent  three-cornered  hat,  decorated  with  ostrich  plumes,  dyed 
in  royal  red.  Each  hat  cost  $100,  and  must  have  required  a  cour- 
tier's art  to  keep  balanced. 

Two  gorgeous  footmen  stood  at  the  back  of  each  landau, 
dressed  like  the  coachmen,  only  their  hats  were  more  of  the  old  field- 
marshal's  pattern,  heavily  bullioned  and  cockaded  and  trimmed  with 


382  THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE 

red  ostrich  tips.  In  the  first  carriage  were  the  representatives  oi 
Costa  Rica,  Chili,  and  Greece  ;  in  the  second,  those  of  Paraguay, 
Peru,  Servia,  and  Central  America  ;  in  the  third,  those  of  Mexico, 
Uruguay,  Guatemala,  and  Brazil ;  in  the  fourth,  those  of  China,  Bel- 
gium, Holland,  and  the  Papal  envoy  ;  in  the  fifth,  the  envoys  of  the 
United  States,  France,  and  Spain. 

The  crowd  began  to  show  more  eager  interest  as  the  Queen 
drew  near.  Following  the  envoys  came  landaus  bearing  the  princes 
and  princesses  and  other  notable  persons. 

The  little  princes  and  princesses  who  filled  the  first  carriages 
were  an  interesting  feature.  The  girls,  dressed  in  white,  bowed 
right  and  left  with  the  aplomb  of  their  mothers,  and  the  boys,  in 
Highland  costume,  saluted  in  the  most  approved  style. 

Then  the  first  part  of  the  sovereign's  escort  rode  into  view 
— the  Second  Life  Guards.  As  their  brilliant  uniforms  appeared  the 
whisper  ran  electrically,  "  She's  coming."  The  Guards  were  suc- 
ceeded by  the  escort  of  British  and  foreign  princes.  The  gor- 
geous uniforms  and  splendid  horses  of  the  princes,  who  rode  in 
threes,  made  this  part  of  the  show  the  feature  of  the  entire  procession. 

•At  the  head  were  the  Marquis  of  Lome,  son-in-law  of  the  Queen, 
and  the  Duke  of  Fife,  son-in-law  of  the  Prince  of  Wales.  The 
former  wore  a  dark-blue  uniform,  and  the  latter  a  red  uniform.  They 
were  both  covered  with  orders.  Behind  them  was  every  conceivable 
variety  of  brilliancy,  from  Mohammed  AH  Khan,  the  Egyptian 
representative,  in  dark  frock  coat  and  fez,  to  the  Austrian  Archduke 
Francis  Ferdinand,  in  a  gorgeous  hussar's  uniform. 

SIX    AND    THREE-QUARTER    MILES,  ROUTE 

The  Duke  of  York  rode  toward  the  rear  of  the  princes'  escort, 
wearing  a  naval  uniform  and  the  Order  of  the  Garter,  while  his 
children,  on  the  main  balcony  of  the  palace,  waved  their  hands  to 
him.  Following  the  princes  came  the  Guard  of  Honor,  twenty-two 
officers  of  native  Indian  cavalry  corps,  men  of  fine  physique,  pic- 
turesque uniform,  and  strange  faiths — Jat  Sikhs,  Brahman  Sikhs, 


THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE  383 

Mussulman  Pathans,  Hindustani  Mussulmans,  Hindu  Jats,  Mussul- 
man Rajputs,  Punjab  Mussulmans,  and  plain  Mussulmans.  But  for 
these  the  crowd  had  no  eyes.  They  could  see  the  Queen's  horses- 

To  emphasize  the  second  basic  idea  in  connection  with  the 
Queen's  Diamond  Jubilee, — loyalty  being  the  first, — a  wondrous 
wall  of  defense  was  in  position  both  sides  of  the  six  and  three- 
quarters  miles  of  route  which  the  Queen  traversed,  a  wall  of  proud 
wearers  of  the  Queen's  uniform,  in  almost  every  variety  known.  It 
was  a  concrete,  appreciable  object-lesson  in  empire  making  and 
empire  holding. 

The  army,  in  the  various  arms  of  the  service,  presented  an 
imposing  array  of  almost  50,000  men,  which,  with  those  in  the  pro- 
cession, formed  the  flower  of  the  British  soldiery. 

The  formal  crossing  of  the  boundary  of  the  ancient  city  of  Lon- 
don at  Temple  Bar  was  the  occasion  of  the  first  ceremony  of  the 
day — the  receiving  of  stately  homage  from  the  chief  magistrate. 
The  frame  in  which  this  picture  was  set  was  picturesque.  On 
one  side  the  broken  gray  pile  of  the  Law  Courts  rose  from  portieres 
of  legal  luminaries,  most  of  her  Majesty's  judges  in  their  splendid 
robes  and  full-bottomed  wigs,  Queen's  counsels  galore,  in  more 
somber  silk  and  less  voluminous  horsehair,  ladies  in  charming  toi- 
lettes, and  every  window  filled  with  eager  faces. 

The  Lord  Mayor,  Sir  Faudel  Phillips,  and  the  city  officials  on 
horseback,  arrived  ten  minutes  before  the  Queen  was  due.  The 
Lord  Mayor  wore  the  earl's  robe  to  which  lord  mayors  are  entitled 
when  crowned  heads  visit  the  city — a  cloak  of  ruby  silk  velvet  lined 
with  white  silk  and  edged  with  ermine.  Sheriffs  Ritchie  and  Rogers 
wore  the  sheriff's  velvet  court  dress,  scarlet  gowns,  and  chains. 

The  "very  goodlye  sword,"  known  as  "Queen  Elizabeth's 
pearl  sword,"  presented  to  the  corporation  by  the  maiden  queen  at 
the  opening  of  a  royal  exchange  A.D.  1570,  was  carried  by  the  Lord 
Mayor.  The  sword  is  three  feet  eleven  inches  long,  with  a  fine 
Damascus  blade.  The  pommel  is  silver  gilt,  with  a  carefully  wrought 
figure  in  a  medallion  of  Justice 'on  either  side. 


On  the  arrival  of  the  Queen  the  Lord  Mayor  uncovered,  and, 
approaching  her  carriage  with  all  due  obeisance,  presented  the  hilt 
of  the  city's  sword,  which  was  undrawn.  This  was  the  ancient 
ceremony  of  dutiful  submission. 

The  Queen  lightly  touched  it,  thus  returning  it  to  the  Lord 
Mayor  in  token  that  his  submission  was  graciously  accepted  by  his 
sovereign.  Her  Majesty  then  commanded  the  Lord  Mayor  and, 
sheriffs  to  proceed.  The  sheriffs  took  their  places  with  the  aldermen 
and  commoners  immediately  after  the  field-marshals ;  the  Lord 
Mayor  rode  bareheaded  immediately  before  the  sovereign's  escort 
of  Life  Guards,  and  the  procession  moved  toward  St.  Paul's. 

The  great  bells  of  St.  Paul's  broke  out  in  happy  chorus  as  the 
Queen's  carriage  started  from  Temple  Bar,  and  only  ceased  as  her 
Majesty's  carriage  stopped  in  front  of  the  steps  of  the  city  cathedral. 


As  the  Queen's  procession  arrived  the  carriages  containing  the 
envoys  and  the  princesses  drew  up  en  echelon  on  the  roadway  on 
the  right.  The  escort  of  princes  turned  to  the  left  on  reaching  the 
churchyard,  and  then  to  the  right  across  the  front  of  the  edifice, 
drawn  up  in  open  order  between  the  statue  to  Queen  Ann  and  the 
cathedral  steps. 

Her  Majesty's  carriage  then  came  between,  halting  opposite 
the  platform  in  front  of  the  portico.  The  broad  steps  presented  to 
the  Queen  a  picture  similar  to  that  on  a  crowded  stage,  wonderful 
in  the  brilliant  costuming.  Immediately  in  front  of  the  royal  car- 
riage were  the  church  dignitaries — the  archbishops,  robed  in  purple 
and  gold,  and  holding  their  gilded  croziers,  and  the  lesser  ecclesi- 
astics in  white,  with  violet  birettas.  Then  there  were  the  cathedral 
dignitaries  in  white  and  gold  capes  and  scarlet  skull-caps,  doctors 
of  divinity  in  crimson  cassocks,  and  back  of  them  two  massed  mili- 
tary bands.  Beyond  the  bands  was  the  bareheaded  surpliced  choir, 
stretching  to  the  cathedral  door,  a  field  of  dazzling  white.  On  the 
right  of  the  archbishops  were  two  rows  of  seated  judges,  robed  in 


THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE  385 

black,  scarlet,  and  purple,  and  wearing  their  wigs,  and  on  the  left 
were  other  prominent  ecclesiastics. 

In  front  of  the  platform  was  a  cordon  of  Gentlemen  of  the 
Guard,  twenty  of  the  tallest  noblemen  of  the  royal  household,  uni- 
formed in  scarlet  and  blue  and  flanked  by  the  picturesque  beef- 
eaters, or  old-fashioned  guardians  of  the  tower,  dressed  in  the 
costumes  of  the  time  of  Henry  VIII. 

The  archbishops  advanced  down  the  steps  upon  the  appear- 
ance of  the  royal  procession,  and  remained  standing  throughout  the 
ceremony.  A  Te  Deum  by  Dr.  Martin,  organist  of  St.  Paul's,  com- 
posed for  the  occasion,  was  first  sung.  The  bass  solo  was  sung 
chorally  by  a  large  number  of  bassos,  and  the  accompaniment  was 
'furnished  by  the  military  bands. 

As  the  sonorous  "Amen"  died  away  the  sweet  voices  of  the 
cathedral  clergy  were  heard  chanting  "O  Lord,  Save  the  Queen," 
to  which  the  great  choir  in  a  wondrous  volume  of  harmonious  sound 

O 

responded  "And  Mercifully  Hear  Us  When  We  Call  Upon  Thee." 
The  Bishop  of  London  then  read  a  short  collect.  The  Queen 
remained  for  a  short  time  in  prayer.  Two  verses  of  "Old  Hundred" 
completed  the  service,  and  the  vast  congregation,  joining  with  the 
choir,  sang  "Praise  God  From  Whom  All  Blessings  Flow."  Then, 
amid  the  further  ringing  of  bells,  the  national  anthem  was  sung. 

The  "  Amens  "  in  the  service  were  accompanied  by  the  blast 
of  horns  and  the  roll  of  drums.  When  all  was  ended,  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  called  for  "Three  times  three  cheers  for 
Queen  Victoria."  Ail  present  rose  and  gave  nine  cheers  for  her 
Majesty,  wildly  waving  their  hats  and  handkerchiefs,  the  Queen 
bowing  repeatedly.  As  the  procession  was  being  reformed  the 
Queen  called  the  Archbishops  of  Canterbury  and  York  and  the  Arch- 
bishop of  London  to  her  carriage  and  thanked  them. 

From  St.  Paul's  the  procession  moved  on  to  the  Mansion 
House.  The  Lord  Mayor  here  made  obeisance,  and  presented  the 
Lady  Mayoress,  who,  attended  by  maids  of  honor  on  foot,  ap- 
proached the  carriage  and  offered  to  the  Queen  a  beautiful  silver 
basket  filled  with  gorgeous  orchids. 


386  THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE 

The  Queen  twice  replied:  "I  am  deeply  grateful."  Her 
Majesty  smiled,  was  evidently  greatly  pleased,  and  looked  fresh  and 
bright.  She  wore  no  spectacles,  took  the  flowers,  passed  them  to 
the  Princess  of  Wales,  and  put  out  her  hand  to  the  Lady  Mayoress 
to  kiss.  The  latter,  it  is  said,  agitated  by  the  splendor  of  the  occa- 
sion, shook  her  Majesty's  hand  instead  of  kissing  it. 

In  the  mean  while  a  distant  band  struck  up  the  national  anthem, 
and  the  crowd  joined  in  singing  "  God  Save  the  Queen,"  which  was 
sung  by  thousands  of  voices  until  her  Majesty  was  out  of  sight. 

The  Lord  Mayor  and  sheriffs  resumed  their  places  in  the  pro- 
cession, but  at  London  Bridge  the  Lord  Mayor  took  leave  of  the 
sovereign  and  she  passed  out  of  the  city  limits. 

The  Queen  reached  the  palace  on  her  return  at  1.45,  and  a  gun 
in  Hyde  Park  announced  that  the  great  procession  was  over,  and  the 
event  so  long  prepared  had  passed  into  history.  The  sound  of  the 
royal  salute  was  answered  by  cheering,  and  then  -the  crowd  faded 
away  as  it  came.  On  leaving  the  carriage  the  Queen  was  very 
much  pleased  and  smiling  and  was  not  overfatigued. 

DEMONSTRATIONS    WERE    HELD    IN    ALL    THE    BRITISH    COLONIES 

Nor  was  this  all.  As  the  celebration  was  planned,  above  all, 
to  demonstrate  the  extent  and  power  of  the  British  empire  and  the 
unity  and  loyalty  of  all  its  constituent  members,  simultaneous 
demonstrations  were  held  in  all  the  British  colonies  and  dependencies, 
from  the  Northwest  Territory  of  Canada  to  Cape  Colony,  and  from 
Malta  to  New  Zealand.  Nearly  all  the  foreign  cities,  also,  had  fetes, 
decorations,  and  illuminations  in  honor  of  the  Queen's  Jubilee. 

The  celebration  evoked  a  chorus  of  comment.  The  recognition 
of  its  grandeur  and  significance  was  so  wide  and  thorough  as  to  be 
itself  significant.  A  great  American  humorist,  writing  to  the  Phila- 
delphia "Press,"  said: 

"It  took  me  but  a  little  while  to  determine  that  this  procession 
could  not  be  described  ;  there  was  going  to  be  too  much  of  it,  and 
too  much  variety  in  it,  so  I  gave  up  the  idea.  It  was  to  be  a  spec- 


r 
' 


THE  QUEEN  IN  HER  JUBILEE  YEAR, 


OPENING  OF  PARLIAMENT  IN  1886 
The  Royal  Processions  in  Westminster  Palace  on  the  way  to  the  House  of  Pcers- 


THE  JUBILEE  PROCESSION 

lo  1887  «he  Queen  celebrated  the  50th  Anniversary  of  her  Accession  to  the  Thron* 


THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE  389 

tacle  for  the  camera,  not  the  pen.     ...     I  was  not  dreaming  of* 
so  stunning  a  show. 

"  It  was  a  memorable  display,  and  must  live  in  history.  It  sug- 
gested the  material  glories  of  the  reign  finely  and  adequately. 
The  absence  of  the  chief  creators  of  them  was,  perhaps,  not  a  seri- 
ous disadvantage  ;  one  could  supply  the  vacancies  by  imagination, 
and  thus  fill  out  the  procession  very  effectively  ;  one  can  enjoy  a 
rainbow  without  necessarily  forgetting  the  force  that  made  it. 

"MARK  TWAIN." 

Special  Ambassador  Whitelaw  Reid  said:  "The  march  of  to- 
day was  one  of  the  grandest  and  most  impressive  displays  I  have 
ever  beheld.  The  most  striking  thino-  also  was  the  admirable  con- 

o  fj 

duct  of  the  people  along  the  line  of  procession.  Dense  as  the  crowd 
was,  there  was  no  struggling  or  pushing,  and  the  task  of  the  police 
was  an  easy  one." 

Ambassador  Hay  said  :  "It  was  a  splendid,  spontaneous  out- 
burst of  loyalty,  and  of  a  character  to  deeply  impress  the  n^any 
foreigners  who  beheld  it.  The  glories  of  the  empire  were  faithfully 
imaged  in  long  lines  of  marching  men." 

Chauncey  M.  Depew's  impressions  were  in  part  as  follows  : 

"We  Americans  glory  in  our  country,  and  in  its  marvelous 
developments  in  a  hundred  years,  and  duly  assert  ourselves  on  the 
Fourth  of  July.  The  celebration  by  the  Germans  of  the  twenty-fifth 
anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Sedan  and  the  founding  of  the  German 
empire,  which  I  saw,  was  a  wonderful  exhibition  of  race  and  national 
feeling. 

"But  the  concentrated  and  irrepressible  joy  and  pride  which 
preceded,  accompanied,  and  followed  the  Queen  like  a  resistless 
torrent  surpassed  anything  ever  witnessed  before.  Though  many 
races  and  many  tongues  participated,  the  dominant  absorbing  ex- 
pression was  English,  and  the  glory  was  England's.  Peers  and 
commoners,  masters  and  workmen,  millionaires  and  the  multitude, 
were  welded  by  tremendous  force. 

"  This  concentration  of  loyalty  from  the  remotest  corners  of  the 


390  THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE 

earth  into  one  wild,  frantic  mass  of  patriotic  enthusiasm  had  an 
effect  upon  observers  which  can  be  likened  to  nothing  so  much  as 
to  the  North  and  South,  electrified  by  the  first  gun  fired  at  Fort 
Sumter,  or  by  the  Seventh  Regiment  marching  down  Broadway  to 
the  defense  of  the  Capitol. 

"  The  enthusiasm  and  shouting  were  far  different  from  those 
evoked  by  the  triumphal  procession  of  a  Roman  conqueror.  Men 
and  women  eagerly  expressed  to  each  other,  and  emphasized  to 
foreigners,  as  the  colonials  marched  by,  that  they  were  not  captives, 
chained  to  the  chariot  of  their  conqueror,  but  'willing  subjects — free 
citizens  of  one  world-wide  empire  following  their  sovereign.' 

"I  can  conjure  no  tribute  like  the  popular  ovation  to  the  Queen 
ever  being  given  to  any  human  being  except  the  reception  to  Wash- 
ington by  the  people  on  his  way  from  Mount  Vernon  to  New  York 
to  assume  the  position  of  first  President  of  the  United  States. 
Respect,  reverence,  love,  or  gratitude  are  words  too  tame,  and 
there  is  no  intermediate  expression  between  them  and  adoration. 
This  practical  age  does  not  worship,  but,  leaving  out  the  idea 
of  divinity,  to-day's  greeting  to  the  Queen  and  Empress  is  its 
equivalent. 

"That  she  \vas  deeply  moved  was  evident,  but  she  seemed 
more  absorbed  by  the  significance  of  the  event  than  conscious  of 
her  past.  Therein  she  impressed  me  as  proud  and  happy  with  this 
grand  tribute  of  her  people,  but  at  the  same  time  sharing  with  them 
the  universal  joy  in  the  thought  of  both  oppressed  and  elevated 
that  there  has  not  been  such  a  sixty  years  in  recorded  time — that  all 
nations  have  enjoyed  its  benefits  and  blessings,  and  none  more  than 
our  own. 

"But  for  this  day  and  place  the  crowd  only  saw  what  Great 
Britain  has  gained  during  her  reign,  and  accorded  praise  therefor  to 
her.  Her  reign  has  been  a  period  of  emancipation  in  English  his- 
tory. The  prerogatives  of  the  throne  have  diminished,  and  by  her 
rule  and  conduct  its  power  has  so  increased  that  this  welcome  came 
with  acclaim  and  unanimity  from  the  free  people  governing  them- 


THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE  39* 

selves  who  gave  it  its  might  and  majesty.  Making  due  allowance 
for  the  exaltation  of  the  hour,  Victoria  will  occupy  a  great  place  in 
the  history  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Her  influence  for  peace  has 
been  of  momentous  consequence  to  Great  Britain,  Europe,  and 
civilization. 

"  She  has  always  been  cordial  in  her  friendships  and  anxious 
for  the  loftiest  relationship  with  the  United  States.  Her  messages, 
sweet,  tender,  and  womanly,  to  the  widow  of  Lincoln  and  the  wife 
of  the  dying  Garfield  gave  her  a  warm  welcome  and  a  permanent 
memory  in  our  American  homes. 

"In  estimating  her  influence  we  must  picture  what  might  have 
occurred  with  a  warlike  or  corrupt  sovereign,  and  recognize  in  her 
power  the  accumulated  force  of  sixty  years  of  wisdom  as  a  ruler 
and  as  the  best  example  as  woman,  wife,  and  mother." 

TROOPS  FROM  EVERY  QUARTER  OF  THE  GLOBE 

The  American  commander,  Nelson  A.  Miles,  thus  expressed  in 
part  his  view  of  the  day's  military  side  : 

"I  consider  it  as  a  remarkably  fine  display  on  the  part  of  the 
military.  The  troops  were  as  fine  a  set  of  men  as  any  soldier  could 
wish  to  see.  The  discipline  was  excellent.  Their  demeanor  left 
nothing  to  be  desired. 

o 

"  I  confess  that  what  appealed  to  me  more  than  anything  else 
in  the  wonderful  spectacle  was  the  collection  of  troops  from  every 
quarter  of  the  globe, — white,  black,  every  hue, — all  showing  great 
efficiency  and  uniformity  of  instruction  in  military  movement.  The 
troops  belonging  to  the  British  empire  which  I  saw  to-day  would  be 
creditable  to  any  nation,  as  far  as  intelligence,  their  high  order  of 
efficiency,  their  equipment,  their  admirable  conduct,  were  con- 
cerned. 

"The  military  representatives  from  the  different  nations  of  the 
world  were  also  a  most  imposing  feature  of  the  pageant.  I  think 
almost  every  uniform  worn  by  military  men  throughout  the  world 
was  included  in  the  procession. 


392  THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE 

"This  city  (London)  has  made  a  profound  impression  on  me. 
I  think  it  a  wonderful  thing,  looking  along  an  endless  crowd  in  the 
.streets  to-day,  to  see  that  the  majority  of  the  people  were  of  such 
good  physical  strength,  so  ruddy,  so  well  dressed,  and  to  think  that 
they  all  found  seemingly  profitable  employment  in  this  one  city." 

Though  the  war  clouds  were  even  then  gathering  over  the 
Transvaal,  President  Kruger  marked  the  occasion  by  releasing  two 
Uitlander  prisoners  who  had  refused  to  sue  for  pardon.  The  event 
was  celebrated  in  various  ways  by  the  British  in  the  United  States, 
and  President  McKinley  sent  a  cable  message  felicitating  the  Queen 
on  "the  prolongation  of  a  reign  which  has  been  illustrious  and 
marked  for  advance  in  science,  arts,  and  popular  well-being."  Lord 
Salisbury,  in  moving  a  Parliamentary  address  congratulating  the 
Queen  on  "the  longest,  the  most  prosperous,  and  the  most  illustri- 
ous reign,"  spoke  of  it  as  a  period  marked  by  "  a  continuous  advance 
in  the  frontiers  of  this  empire,  so  that  many  races  that  were  formerly 
alien  to  it  have  been  brought  under  its  influence  ;  many  who  were 
formerly  within  its  boundaries  have  been  made  to  feel  in  some  degree 
for  the  first  time  the  full  benefits  of  its  civilization  and  its  educating 
influence."  He  dwelt  also  on  the  great  political  change  :  "  The 
impulse  of  democracy,  which  began  in  another  century  and  in  other 
lands,  has  made  itself  felt  in  our  times,  and  vast  changes  in  the 
center  of  power  and  the  incidence  of  responsibility  have  been  made 
almost  imperceptibly,  without  any  disturbance  or  hindrance  in  the 
progress  of  the  prosperous  development  of  the  nation." 

How  England  regarded  the  great  event  may  be  further  shown 
by  a  quotation  from  the  pen  of  an  English  writer : 

"The  supreme  pageant  of  the  Diamond  Jubilee  celebration  is 
over,  and  an  event  more  superficially  splendid,  more  intrinsically 
significant,  than  any  this  country  has  seen  now  takes  its  place  in  the 
recorded  history  of  the  Kingdom.  Writing  with  the  roar  of  London's 
welcome  to  Queen  Victoria  still  in  our  ears,  while  yet  the.  metropolis 
is  bright  as  day  and  thousands  still  throng  the  streets  under  the 
glare  of  a  million  fires,  it  is  not  easy  to  set  forth  more  than  the  bare 


THE  DIAMOND  JUBILEE  393 

fact  of  the  magnificent  success  of  her  Majesty's  great  triumphal  prog- 
ress from  Buckingham  Palace  to  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  from  the  city 
to  Westminster,  and  to  the  palace  again.  Enthusiasm  far  beyond 
most  loyal  expectations  marked  her  road,  and  every  station  of  the 
long  journey  brought  its  own  triumph  and  tribute.  A  reign  unpar- 
alleled in  duration  and  in  splendor  has  been  fittingly  crowned  by  a 
British  pageant  unparalleled  ;  and  the  memory  of  this  magnificent 
event  will  not  only  endure  in  the  minds  of  the  thousands  upon  thou- 
sands of  English  men  and  women  who  beheld  it,  but  must  leave  its 
mark  upon  unnumbered  children  who  in  days  to  come  will  tell  the 
great  story  to  generations  yet  unborn." 

The  spectacular  features  of  the  celebration  culminated  in  the 
great  naval  review  at  Spithead  on  Saturday,  June  28th.  The  ves- 
sels assembled,  though  they  comprised  only  the  Channel  Squadron 
and  coast  defense  fleet,  with  a  few  additional  ones,  being  only  about 
half  of  the  Queen's  navy,  mustered  four  hundred,  and  formed  a  line 
twenty-five  miles  long,  broken  into  five  ranks  of  five  miles  each. 
A  number  of  foreign  warships,  of  which  the  American  cruiser  Brook- 
lyn, specially  designated  for  the  honor,  was  one,  formed  a  sixth 
line,  and  a  seventh  was  composed  of  seven  of  the  largest  ocean- 
liners.  At  8  A.  M.  a  signal  was  given,  and  instantly  every  ship  was 
covered  with  flags  and  bunting.  Later  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  a 
royal  party  on  the  Queen's  yacht,  Victoria  and  Albert,  reviewed  the 
fleet ;  while  the  guns  of  both  British  and  foreign  vessels  fired  a 
salute  of  twenty-one  rounds,  and  every  ship  was  "manned"  by 
sailors  and  marines  standing  in  solid  masses  on  the  ironclads  and 
filling  all  the  yards  of  the  sailing  craft.  At  night  there  was  a  grand 
illumination  of  the  whole  fleet,  and  a  royal  salute  of  sixty  guns  was 
fired  from  every  ship  that  had  a  gun  to  fire. 

A  myriad  of  minor  events  had  their  part  in  the  Jubilee,  but  these 
were  the  prominent  ones.  The  chief  feature  of  the  entire  celebra- 
tion was  the  demonstration  of  the  loyalty  of  the  colonists,  and  the 
glory  of  this  demonstration  was  its  value  as  evidence  of  the  indivisi- 
ble unity  of  the  British  empire. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
The  Queen  and   Her  Early   Ministries 

WE  can  not  undertake  to  give,  in  the  brief  space  at  our  com- 
mand, an  account  of  the  numerous  party  movements  and 
political  discussions  while  Victoria  was  Queen.  The  best 
that  can  be  done  will  be  to  offer  a  few  passing  remarks  in  reference 
to  the  succession  of  ministers  and  some  of  the  important  events  of 
their  administrations.  The  first  great  Reform  Bill,  which  widely 
extended  the  franchise  and  cured  many  evils  of  ancient  date  in 
regard  to  representation,  was  passed  in  1831.  Before  that  time  the 
House  of  Commons  hardly  represented  the  people  at  all,  since 
places  with  no  population  sent  members  to  Parliament,  while  some 
rich  and  flourishing  cities  were  deprived  of  the  franchise.  This 
great  abuse  was  removed  in  the 'reign  of  William  IV. 

When  Victoria  came  to  the  throne,  Lord  Melbourne  was  pre- 
mier "of  England,  and  held  that  post,  largely  through  the  Queen's 
desire  for  his  retention  and  her  vigorous  opposition  to  the  removal 
of  her  ladies-in-waiting,  until  September,  1841,  when  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Sir  Robert  Peel,  as  chief  of  a  Tory  administration.  The 
great  question  of  that  day  was  the  protective  policy,  and  especially 
the  retention  of  the  Corn  Laws — import  duties  on  foreign  grain.  It 
was  on  this  question  that  the  election  of  1841  turned,  and  Peel  was 
sustained  by  a  large  majority  in  his  policy  of  retaining  those  laws. 
Yet  in  four  years  from  that  time  we  find  him  repealing  the  laws 
which  he  had  been  pledged  to  support,  in  the  face  of  the  execration 
of  the  great  bulk  of  his  own  party. 

For  centuries  commerce  in  grain  had  been  a  subject  of  legisla- 
tion.    In  1361  its  exportation  from  England  was  forbidden,  and  in 
1463  its  importation  was  prohibited  unless  the  price  of  wheat  was 
304 


THE  QUEEN  AND  HER  EARLY  MINISTRIES  395 

greater  than  6s.  3d.  per  quarter.  As  time  went  on  changes  were 
made  in  these  laws,  but  the  tariff  charges  kept  up  the  price  of  grain 
until  late  in  the  nineteenth  century,  and  added  greatly  to  the  miseries 
of  the  working-classes. 

The  farming  land  of  England  was  not  held  by  the  common 
people,  but  by  the  aristocracy,  who  fought  bitterly  against  the  repeal 
of  the  Corn  Laws,  which,  by  laying  a  large  duty  on  grain,  added 
materially  to  their  profits.  But  while  the  aristocrats  were  benefited, 
the  workers  suffered,  the  price  of  the  loaf  being  decidedly  raised 
and  their  scanty  fare  correspondingly  diminished. 

RICHARD  COBDEN,  ONE  OF  ENGLAND'S  GREAT  ORATORS 

More  than  once  they  rose  in  riot  against  these  laws,  and  occa- 
sional changes  were  made  in  them,  but  many  years  passed  after  the 
era  of  parliamentary  reform  before  public  opinion  prevailed  in  this 
second  field  of  effort.  Richard  Cobden,  one  of  the  greatest  of 
England's  orators,  was  the  apostle  of  the  crusade  against  these 
misery-producing  laws.  He  advocated  their  repeal  with  a  power 
and  influence  that  in  time  grew  irresistible.  He  was  not  affiliated 
with  either  of  the  great  parties,  but  stood  apart  as  an  independent 
Radical,  a  man  with  a  party  of  his  own,  and  that  party,  Free  Trade, 
for  the  crusade  against  the  Corn  Laws  widened  into  one  against  the 
whole  principle  of  protection.  Backed  by  the  public  demand  for 
cheap  food  the  movement  went  on,  until  in  1846  Cobden  brought 
over  to  his  side  the  government  forces  under  Sir  Robert  Peel,  by 
v/hose  aid  the  Corn  Laws  were  swept  away  and  the  ports  of  England 
thrown  open  to  the  free  entrance  of  food  from  any  part  of  the 
world. 

The  result  was  a  serious  one  to  English  agriculture,  but  it 
was  of  great  benefit  to  the  English  people  in  their  status  as  the 
greatest  of  manufacturing  and  commercial  nations.  Supplying  the 
world  with  goods,  as  they  did,  it  was  but  just  that  the  world  should 
supply  them  with  food.  With  the  repeal  of  the  duties  on  grain 
the  whole  system  of  protection  was  dropped,  and  in  its  place  was 


396  THE  QUEEN  AND  HER  EARLY  MINISTRIES 

adopted  that  system  of  free  trade  in  which  Great  Britain  stands 
alone  among  the  nations  of  the  world.  It  was  a  system  especially 
adapted  to  a  nation  whose  market  was  the  world  at  large,  and 
under  it  British  commerce  spread  and  flourished  until  it  became 
one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world. 

The  famine  then  raging  in  Ireland  had  much  to  do  with  the 
repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws,  the  opening  of  the  ports  to  cheap  food 
from  abroad  being  necessary  if  several  millions  of  the  Irish  peas- 
antry were  to  be  saved  from  starvation.  But,  as  a  result,  Peel 
was  defeated  in  an  appeal  to  his  constituents  for  reelection,  and 
resigned  office,  Lord  John  Russell  succeeding  him  in  July,  1846. 

For  modesty,  dignity,  simplicity,  and  sincerity  the  figure  of  Sir 
Robert  Peel  is  conspicuous  among  the  great  statesmen  of  the  coun- 
try and  century.  Cobden  said  of  him  that  he  lost  office  and  saved 
his  country.  In  addition  to  his  work  in  repealing  the  Corn  Laws, 
he  reorganized  and  simplified  the  finances  of  the  government,  a  ser- 
vice for  which  he  was  highly  esteemed  by  the  Queen  and  Prince 
Albert,  both  of  them  strict  economists  in  their  private  affairs  and 
desirous  of  similar  economy  in  national  concerns.  When  Peel  suc- 
ceeded Melbourne,  the  finances  were  in  a  desperate  state :  the 
revenue  was  falling,  huge  deficits  were  occurring,  and  ruin  seemed 
impending  ;  while  in  the  country  at  large  a  state  of  semi-starvation 
prevailed.  Peel  lifted  the  state  out  of  this  slough,  brought  back 
prosperity  to  the  people,  and  redeemed  the  revenue  from  chaos. 
He  was  a  man  of  whom  it  was  said  that  it  was  necessary  to  know 
him  intimately  to  know  him  at  all  ;  and  such  an  intimacy  and  friend- 
ship existed  between  him  and  the  Queen.  In  his  five  years'  pre- 
miership he  did  much  in  teaching  the  young  sovereign  the  prin- 
ciples of  politics  and  government,  and  Victoria  grew  to  depend  on 
him  with  a  trust  equal  to  that  she  had  placed  in  Lord  Melbourne. 
In  the  critical  times  that  followed,  this  far-seeing  and  able  statesman 
was  one  of  the  most  important  supporters  of  the  government,  and 
would  probably  have  come  again  to  its  head  but  for  a  hunting  acci- 
dent which  caused  his  death  in  1850. 


THE   QUEEN  AND  HER  EARLY  MINISTRIES  397 

Lord  John  Russell,  on  coming  into  office  in  1846,  found  himself 
confronted  bya  difficult  situation.  The  whole  country  was  in  a  state 
of  incipient  rebellion,  the  result  of  the  recent  severe  distress.  The 
famine  in  Ireland,  due  to  the  destruction  of  its  chief  food  substance 
by  what  was  known  as  "  the  potato  rot,"  still  continued,  and  in  spite 
of  every  effort  for  relief  hundreds  of  thousands  perished  from 
starvation  and  its  attendant  pestilence. 

The  intense  feeling  which  this  engendered  against  the  govern- 
ment led  in  1848  to  a  sentiment  of  rebellion,  with  which  Lord 
Russell's  administration  had  to  deal.  John  Mitchell,  editor  of  "The 
United  Irishman,"  stirred  the  people  to  revolt,  and  openly  gave  them 
advice  how  to  act  in  a  street  fight.  They  were  to  throw  broken 
glass  in  the  streets  to  lame  the  horses  of  the  cavalry,  and  to  fling 
missiles  from  the  houses.  They  were  advised  to  use  "  boiling 
water  or  grease,  or  cold  vitriol  if  available.  Molten  lead  is  good, 
but  too  valuable  :  it  should  always  be  cast  in  bullets  and  allowed  to 
cool."  An  attempt  was  made  to  obtain  aid  from  France,  but  the 
government  there  refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  move- 
ment. In  the  end  Mitchell  and  his  associates  were  arrested  and 
transported,  and  the  danger  was  averted. 

The  trouble,  however,  was'  not  confined  to  Ireland,  the  pinch 
of  scarcity  of  food  being  bitterly  felt  in  England  and  Scotland. 
Wheat,  in  February,  1847,  was  IO2  shillings  a  quarter,  or  over  three 
dollars  a  bushel ;  and  not  only  was  food  dear  and  scarce,  but  a  com- 
mercial panic  led  to  a  great  depression  in  business,  attended  by  lack 
of  employment  and  loss  of  wages.  All  classes  of  society  felt  the 
pinch  ;  but  while  it  meant  only  lack  of  luxuries  to  the  rich,  it  meant 
actual  want  of  the  necessaries  of  life  to  the  poor.  The  result  was  a 
perilous  threat  of  rebellion.  In  Scotland  a  serious  outbreak  took 
place  near  Glasgow,  and  the  whole  manufacturing  district  of  western 
Scotland  might  have  been  swept  with  riot  and  bloodshed  but  for  the 
vigorous  action  of  the  authorities,  who  nipped  the  insurrection  in  the 
bud 

In  England  the  threat  of  trouble  came  from  the  Chartist  agita- 


398  THE  QUEEN  AND  HER  EARLY  MINISTRIES 

tion.  During  the  Reform  excitement  of  1832  the  revolutionary 
party  embodied  their  demands  in  what  was  called  the  "  People's 
Charter,"  which  asked  for  universal  suffrage,  vote  by  ballot,  annual 
Parliaments,  abolition  of  property  qualification  in  candidates,  pay- 
ment of  members,  and  equal  electoral  districts.  Xearly  all  these 
demands  have  since  been  granted,  but  then  they  were  opposed  by 
the  conservative  party  as  utterly  revolutionary.  For  ten  years  the 
agitation  continued,  riots  were  numerous,  and  many  of  the  Chartist 
leaders  were  arrested.  The  details  of  this  trouble  we  give  in 
another  chapter. 

During  the  agitation  the  Queen,  on  the  advice  of  Lord  John 
Russell,  had  retired  to  Osborne.  She  had  been  much  affected  by 
the  revolutionary  events  on  the  Continent,  and  on  March  6th  she 
wrote  to  Baron  Stockmar  that  they  had  gone  through  "enough  for 
a  whole  life — anxiety,  sorrow,  excitement."  On  that  very  day  a 
mob  attacked  Buckingham  Palace,  breaking  the  lamps  and  shouting 
"Vive  la  Republique  !"  Two  weeks  afterwards  the  Princess 
Louise  was  born,  and  with  a  three-weeks-old  baby  on  her  hands,  the 
Queen  could  well  be  pardoned  for  withdrawing  from  the  possible 
insurrection  on  April  loth.  On  the  succeeding  day  Prince  Albert 
wrote,  "What  a  glorious  day  was 'yesterday  for  England  !  How 
mightily  this  will  tell  all  over  the  world  !  " 

The  next  event  of  importance  in  the  ministerial  history  of  Eng- 
land came  in  1851,  as  a  result  of  the  Queen's  disapproval  of  the 
actions  of  Lord  Palmerston,  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs  in  the 
Russell  Cabinet.  What  the  Queen  objected  to  was  Palmerston's 
unwarranted  habit  of  sending  out  despatches  on  important  subjects 
in  his  own  words  and  on  his  own  responsibility.  These,  when 
altered  by  the  Cabinet  and  the  Queen,  were  sometimes  changed 
again  by  Palmerston  and 'sent  abroad,  making  the  sovereign  and 
minister  appear  to  have  consented  to  matters  of  which  they  entirely 
disapproved.  In  other  cases  he  would  send  the  Queen  despatches 
which  he  gave  her  very  little  time  to  examine,  as  if  he  wished  her  to 
sign  something  which  she  did  not  understand. 


THE  QUEEN  AND  HER  EARLY  MINISTRIES  399 

Complaints  were  made  by  the  Queen,  Russell  remonstrated 
with  Palmerston,  but  the  latter  proved  incorrigible  ;  while  his  amus- 
ing manner,  his  unyielding  good  nature,  his  absence  of  bitter  feeling 
against  his  opponents,  disarmed  those  who  sought  to  call  him  to 
terms.  He  would  boast  of  his  triumphs,  while  defeat  ran  off  him 
like  rain,  and  the  next  day  he  would  be  joking  as  jovially  as  ever. 

This  could  not  go  on  indefinitely.  When  the  Neapolitans  were 
in  insurrection  against  their  infamous  king  in  1849,  Palmerston  sent 
them  arms  from  the  English  arsenals  without  the  knowledge  of  his 
colleagues.  Russell  first  found  out  what  his  Foreign  Secretary  was 
doing  through  a  question  asked  in  Parliament.  As  a  result,  Palmers- 
ton  had  to  make  an  official  apology  to  the  King  of  Naples.  In 
1850,  when  the  Austrian  General,  Haynau,  abhorred  for  his  brutal 
treatment  of  the  Hungarians,  was  mobbed  by  the  brewers'  draymen 
during  a  visit  to  London,  Palmerston  apologized  to  the  Austrian 
cJiarge  d'  affaires  for  the  incident,  but  expressed  his  real  sentiment 
in  a  private  letter,  saying:  "The  draymen  were  wrong  in  the  par- 
ticular course  they  adopted.  They  ought  to  have  tossed  him  in  a 
blanket,  rolled  him  in  the  kennel,  and  then  sent  him  home  in  a  cab, 
paying  his  fare  to  the  hotel." 

THE  QUEEN  AND  LORD  PALMERSTON 

When  ordered  to  write  a  formal  apology  to  the  Austrian  gov- 
ernment, Palmerston  did  not  willingly  accede,  and  his  wording  of  it 
led  to  a  long  controversy  between  himself,  the  Prime  Minister,  and 
the  Queen.  In  his  draft  of  the  paper  he  implied  that  General 
Haynau  would  have  shown  better  taste  by  taking  his  autumn  holi- 
day nearer  home.  This  was  corrected  by  Lord  Russell,  and  the 
correction  was  indorsed  by  the  Queen  and  the  paper  returned  to 
Palmerston.  But  before  it  reached  him  he  had  sent  off  a  copy  of 
the  original  despatch. 

A  pitched  battle  ensued.  Palmerston  said  he  would  rather 
resign  than  withdraw  his  despatch  in  favor  of  the  one  approved  by 
Russell  and  the  Queen.  He  did  not  resign.  One  author  says  that 


400  THE  QUEEN  AND  HER  EARLY  MINISTRIES 

in  the  end  he  gave  way.  Another  says  that  he  never  yielded. 
However  that  was,  there  ensued  a  long-continued  hostility  of  Aus- 
tria to  England.  Palmerston  gave  Austria  still  better  reason  for 
this.  In  1851  Kossuth  visited  England,  where  he  met  with  an 
enthusiastic  ovation  from  the  people.  The  fury  of  the  Austrians  at 
this  action  was  intensified  by  the  report  that  Palmerston  proposed  to 
receive  the  Hungarian  exile  at  the  Foreign  Office.  Many  politicians 
thought  that  Austria  would  look  upon  this  as  equivalent  to  a  decla- 
ration of  war,  and  the  cabinet  was  greatly  relieved  when*  Palmerston 
yielded  to  their  remonstrances.  A  few  days  afterwards  Greville  saw 
Russell  and  Palmerston  together  at  Windsor,  "mighty  merry  and 
cordial,  laughing  and  talking  together." 

But  Palmerston  was  not  to  be  controlled.  He  did  not  hesitate 
to  express  in  public  his  sympathy  with  the  Hungarians,  and  spoke 
of  the  British  government  as  the  ''judicious  bottle-holder"  in  the 
conflict  between  Austria  and  Hungary.  His  action  was  severely 
censured  by  Cabinet  and  Queen.  Her  Majesty  was  very  angry,  and 
was  not  to  be  appeased  when  told  that  her  Foreign  Secretary  was 
very  popular  with  the  people  of  England,  even  if  the  Austrian 
emperor  was  angry.  She  replied  :  "  It  is  no  question  with  the 
Queen  whether  she  pleases  the  Emperor  of  Austria  or  not,  but 
whether  she  gives  him  a  just  ground  of  complaint  or  not,  and  if 
she  does  so,  she  can  never  believe  that  this  will  add  to  her  popular- 
ity with  her  own  people." 

This  letter  was  written  to  Russell,  who  showed  it  to  Palmerston, 
bidding  him  to  be  more  guarded  in  his  conduct.  Lord  John  answered 
the  Queen  to  the  effect  that  he  was  sure  her  remonstrance  would 
"have  its  effect  upon  Lord  Palmerston."  They  did  not  yet  know 
that  versatile  individual.  The  ink  with  which  these  letters  were 
written  was  hardly  dry  when,  like  a  thunderbolt,  came  the  news  of 
the  coup  d'etat  by  which  Louis  Napoleon  had  overthrown  the  French 
government,  sent  his  opponents  to  prison,  shot  down  thousands  of 
people  in  the  streets  of  Paris,  and  exiled  500  persons  to  Cayenne 
without  a  trial. 


THE  QUEEN  AND  HER  EARLY  MINISTRIES  401 

The  Queen  at  once  wrote  to  Lord  Russell,  bidding  him  caution 
the  British  ambassador  in  Paris  to  be  strictly  neutral,  and  to  remain 
passive  towards  the  new  government.  Lord  Palmerston  sent  off 
those  instructions.  But  at  the  same  time  he  met  the  French  ambas- 
sador in  London  and  told  him  that  he  fully  approved  of  the  coup 
d'etat,  and  djd  not  see  how  the  President  could  have  done  anything 
else.  Soon  after  he  sent  a  despatch  to  Lord  Normandy,  the  British 
ambassador,  fully  approving  of  Louis  Napoleon's  action.  This 
document  was  not  shown  either  the  Queen  or  Premier,  and  was  in 
open  opposition  to  their  express  wishes. 

Palmerston  had  carried  his  autocratic  ways  to  a  finish.  He  was 
at  once  dismissed  from  office  by  Lord  Russell,  with  the  full  approval 
of  the  Queen.  There  was  great  rejoicing  over  his  fall  in  the 
despotic  courts  of  Europe,  especially  in  Austria,  and  it  was  widely 
predicted  that  his  political  career  was  at  an  end,  particularly  as 
Parliament  fully  sustained  the  action  of  the  Prime  Minister.  But 
those  who  thought  he  was  done  for  did  not  know  Palmerston  nor 
the  sentiment  of  the  British  people.  In  two  months  afterwards  he 
"gave  Russell  his  tit  for  tat,"  defeating  him  over  a  militia  bill  in 
February,  1852. 

RUSSELL    IS    SUCCEEDED    BY    LORD    DERBY 

A  ministry  under  Lord  Derby  followed,  but  this  came  to  an  end 
in  December,  when  the  reins  of  government  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Earl  of  Aberdeen,  with  Russell  for  Foreign  Secretary  and  leader 
in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  Palmerston  for  Home  Secretary, 
It  is  said  that  during  this  administration  Palmerston  continued  to 
dictate  the  policy  of  the  foreign  office,  and  knew  next  to  nothing  of 
home  affairs.  When  the  Queen  asked  him  about  some  labor 
troubles  in  the  North  of  England,  she  found  that  he  was  quite 
ignorant  of  them.  One  morning  she  said  to  him :  "  Pray,  Lord 
Palmerston,  have  you  any  news?"  "No,  madam,"  he  replied,  "I 
have  heard  nothing  ;  but  it  seems  certain  that  the  Turks  have  crossed 
the  Danube." 


402  THE  QUEEN  AND  HER  EARLY  MINISTRIES 

The  Crimean  War  that  followed  was  strongly  approved  by 
Lord  Palmerston,  and  in  this  the  Queen  was  heartily  in  accord  with 
him.  The  events  of  this  war  gave  him  a  final  triumph  over  his  foes, 
leading  him  to  the  highest  position  a  British  subject  can  fill,  that  of 
Prime  Minister.  The  vacillating  policy  displayed  by  the  Aberdeen 
ministry  in  the  conduct  of  this  war,  and  the  gross  mismanagement 
of  the  commissariat  in  the  winter  of  1854,  led  to  its  downfall,  Lord 
Aberdeen  resigning  on  February  i,  1855.  Palmerston,  then  seventy 
years  old,  succeeded,  being  called  to  the  premiership  by  the  unan- 
imous demand  of  the  nation.  In  his  own  words,  he  was  "the 
inevitable." 

Under  his  control  the  wrar  was  vigorously  prosecuted,  until 
Sebastopol  fell  and  peace  was  made.  On  the  signing  of  the  treaty 
of  peace,  in  April,  1856,  the  Queen  invested  him  with  the  Order  of 
the  Garter,  in  token  of  her  earnest  appreciation  of  his  services  to 
the  country.  In  1857  the  ministry  was  defeated  in  Parliament  on  a 
motion  by  Mr.  Cobden  condemning  the  Chinese  war.  Palmerston 
appealed  to  the  country,  and  was  strongly  supported,  the  new 
Parliament  having  a  large  majority  in  his  favor. 

He  was  again  defeated,  however,  in  February,  1858,  over  the 
Conspiracy  Bill — intended  to  protect  the  French  emperor  against 
the  plots  of  political  refugees.  Lord  Derby  formed  the  new  min- 
istry, the  chief  important  event  in  whose  short  career  was  the  Indian 
mutiny,  a  fierce  struggle  for  independence  among  the  Queen's  sub- 
jects in  India,  which  led  to  horrors  unmentionable,  but  ended  in  the 
reestablishment  of  British  authority  over  that  distant  realm. 

In  1859  the  Derby  ministry  met  with  defeat  upon  a  Reform 
measure,  and  in  an  appeal  to  the  country  found  itself  without  sup- 
port. Derby  resigned  on  a  vote  of  want  of  confidence,  and  in  June 
Lord  Palmerston  was  again  asked  by  the  Queen  to  form  a  ministry, 
and  once  more  returned  to  the  chief  place  in  the  government  under 
the  sovereign.  This  term  as  Premier  ended  only  with  his  death,  on 
October  18,  1865. 

The  great  event  of  this  period  was  the  American  Civil  War,  in 


THE  QUEEN  AND  HER  EARLY  MINISTRIES  403 

which  Great  Britain  became  especially  concerned  over  what  was 
known  as  "the  Trent  affair" — the  forcible  seizure  of  two  Southern 
envoys  on  their  way  to  Europe  upon  an  English  ship,  the  Trent. 
Palmerston  sent  a  despatch  on  the  subject  to  the  Queen  for 
approval,  which,  if  mailed  as  written,  might  have  led  to  war  between 
the  two  countries.  It  came  back  from  the  sovereign's  hand  essen- 
tially modified,  and  Palmerston  this  time  did  not  attempt  his  former 
arbitrary  method  of  ignoring  the  Queen's  desire.  As  a  result,  the 
affair  blew  quietly  over. 

Victoria  wrote  to  Palmerston  saying  that  the  peaceful  issue  of 
the  quarrel  was  ''greatly  owing  to  her  beloved  Prince,"  who  had 
died  while  the  settlement  was  being  made.  The  Prime  Minister, 
in  his  reply,  acknowledged  the  wisdom  of  Prince  Albert  in  this 
critical  difficulty,  and  said  :  "But  these  alterations  were  only  one  of 
innumerable  instances  of  the  tact  and  judgment  and  the  power  of 
nice  discrimination  which  excited  Lord  Palmerston's  constant  and 
unbounded  admiration." 

There  were  other  questions  of  moment  that  arose  during  the 
American  Civil  War,  and  in  which  the  management  of  the  ministry 
made  trouble  for  England.  Notable  among  these  was  the  permis- 
sion for  the  building  of  a  privateer  for  the  Southern  Confederacy  in 
England,  and  the  freedom  given  this  vessel,  the  Alabama,  to  sail 
from  an  English  port,  in  defiance  of  the  protest  of  the  American 
minister.  This  was 'one  of  the  "curses"  that  "came  home  to 
roost."  Great  Britain  paid  dearly  for  her  fault  ten  or  twelve  years 
afterwards. 

EARL    RUSSELL    AGAIN    PRIME    MINISTER 

On  the  death  of  Palmerston,  Russell — now  Earl  Russell — again 
became  Prime  Minister,  but  held  the  post  only  some  eight  months, 
being  defeated  in  June,  1866,  on  a  Reform  Bill  which  he  brought 
forward.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Earl  of  Derby,  who  now  for  the 
third  time  became  Prime  Minister.  The  question  of  reform  was  in 
the  air,  the  reform  granted  in  1832  being  insufficient  to  meet  the 
national  demand  three  decades  later,  and  an  insistent  demand  for  a. 


404  THE   QUEEN  AND  HER  EARLY  MINISTRIES 

greater  extension  of  the  suffrage  grew  more  vital  year  after  year. 
This  question,  as  we  have  seen,  overthrew  Russell's  ministry.  It  be- 
came the  leading  problem  in  that  of  Derby,  and  in  1867,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Disraeli,  he  passed  a  new  Reform  Bill  of  far  more  liberal 
character.  In  February,  1868,  ill  health  induced  him  to  resign  the 
premiership  in  favor  of  his  colleague,  Disraeli.  The  character  of  the 
reform  measure  alluded  to,  with  the  conditions  surrounding  the  new 
administration,  will  be  dealt  with  in  a  succeeding  chapter. 

It  will  not  be  amiss  to  state,  at  this  point,  a  fact  which  many  do 
not  know  concerning  Queen  Victoria's  labors  and  power.  There 
were  few  harder  workers  in  her  kingdom  than  its  ruler,  and,  to 
make  a  rough  estimate,  she  signed  50,000  documents  yearly.  X<> 
despatch  of  any  importance  was  issued  from  the  Foreign  Office 
without  passing  through  her  hands  and  being  understood  by  her 
before  signing,  and  it  is  said  that  this  office  alone  handles  consider- 
ably over  a  thousand  despatches  weekly.  The  constant  supervision 
over  affairs,  thus  indicated,  is  shown  in  several  statements  made  in 
this  chapter,  and  it  may  be  seen  that,  while  she  could  not  defy  the 
will  of  the  people,  she  was  capable  of  exercising  considerable  con 
trol  over  the  progress  of  affairs  as  an  adviser,  and  at  times  as  a 
royal  mistress.  As  for  her  position  being  a  sinecure,  some  doubt 
may  be  felt  in  view  of  the  facts  here  stated.  A  thoroughly  consci- 
entious constitutional  monarch  would  find  it  difficult  to  live  a  life  of 
idleness. 


CHAPTER   XXIII 

Gladstone  and  Disraeli,  Victoria's  Great 

Ministers 

THE  long  reign  of  England's  Queen  was  marked  by  many 
ministries,  headed  by  able  premiers  who  bore  the  weight  of 
the  Empire  upon  their  broad  shoulders,  and  relieved  the 
monarch  of  those  heavy  cares  and  responsibilities  of  state  which 
only  men  of  exceptional  mental  strength  and  experience  in  political 
affairs  are  competent  to  bear.  Among  these  one  man  stood  above 
all  his  compeers  in  moral  and  mental  worth  and  dignity,  and  in  the 
respect  and  reverence  of  the  people  of  all  nations,  William  Ewart 
Gladstone,  Victoria's  greatest  and  noblest  Minister,  and  a  man 
whose  political  career  very  nearly  covered  the  whole  period  of  her 
reign. 

THE    GREAT    ADVOCATE    OF    ENGLISH    LIBERALISM 

It  is  a  fact  of  much  interest,  as  showing  the  growth  of  the 
human  mind,  that  Gladstone,  the  great  advocate  of  English 
Liberalism,  made  his  first  political  speech  in  vigorous  opposition  tc 
the  Reform  Bill  of  1831.  He  was  then  a  student  at  Oxford 
University,  but  this  boyish  address  had  such  an  effect  upon  his 
hearers,  that  Bishop  Wordsworth  felt  sure  the  speaker  "  would  one 
day  rise  to  be  Prime  Minister  of  England."  This  prophetic  utter 
ance  may  be  mated  with  another  one,  by  Archdeacon  Denison. 
who  said  :  "  I  have  just  heard  the  best  speech  I  ever  heard  in  my 
life,  by  Gladstone,  against  the  Reform  Bill.  But,  mark  my  words, 
that  man  will  one  day  be  a  Liberal,  for  he  argued  against  the  Bill 
on  liberal  ground."  Both  these  far-seeing  men  hit  the  mark : 
Gladstone  became  Prime  Minister,  and  for  many  years  he  figured 
as  the  leader  of  the  Liberal  Party  in  England. 

405 


406 


VICTORIA'S  GREAT  MINISTERS 


In  April,  1853,  Gladstone,  as   Chancellor  of  the   Exchequer, 
introduced  his  first  Financial  Budget,  which  was  acknowledged  as 


. 


THE  VICEROY  PROCLAIMING  QUEEN  VICTORIA  EMPRESS  OF  INDIA 

a  marvel  of  ingenious  statesmanship  in  its  highly  successful  effort 
to  equalize  taxation.  Taken  altogether  this  first  Budget  of  Mr 
Gladstone  may  be  justly  called  the  greatest  of  the  century  The 


VICTORIA'S  GREAT  MINISTERS  40? 

speech  in  which  it  was  introduced  and  expounded  created  an  extra- 
ordinary impression  on  the  House  and  the  country.  For  the  first 
time  in  Parliament,  figures  were  made  as  interesting  as  a  fairy  tale ; 
the  dry  bones  of  statistics  were  invested  with  a  new  and  potent  life, 
and  it  was  shown  how  the  yearly  balancing  of  the  national 
accounts  might  be  directed  by  and  made  to  promote  the  profound- 
est  and  most  fruitful  principles  of  statesmanship.  With  such 
lucidity  and  picturesqueness  was  this  financial  oratory  rolled  forth 
that  the  dullest  intellect  could  follow  with  pleasure  the  complicated 
scheme;  and  for  five  hours  the  House  of  Commons  sat  as  if  it  were 
under  -the  sway  of  a  magician's  wand.  When  Mr.  Gladstone 
resumed  his  seat,  it  was  felt  that  the  career  of  the  coalition  Min- 
istry was  assured  by  the  genius  that  was  discovered  in  its  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer. 

GLADSTONE'S  REMARKABLE  ORATORICAL  POWERS 

It  was,  indeed,  to  Gladstone's  remarkable  oratorical  powers 
that  much  of  his  success  as  a  statesman  was  due.  No  man  of  his 
period  was  his  equal  in  swaying  and  convincing  his  hearers.  His 
rich  and  musical  voice,  his  varied  and  animated  gestures,  his 
impressive  and  vigorous  delivery,  great  fluency,  and  wonderful 
precision  of  statement,  gave  him  a  power  over  an  audience  which 
few  men  of  the  century  have  enjoyed.  "  His  sentences,  indeed,  were 
long  and  involved,  growing  more.so  as  his  years  advanced,  but  their 
fine  choice  of  words,  rich  rhetoric,  and  eloquent  delivery  carried 
away  all  that  heard  him,  as  did  his  deep  earnestness,  and  intense 
conviction  of  the  truth  of  his  utterances. 

Gladstone's  career  was  that  of  a  soldier,  a  man  constantly  at 
war  for  what  seemed  to  him  the  best  interests  of  his  country  and 
the  good  of  mankind  at  large.  Opposed  to  him,  through  nearly 
his, whole  career,  as  leader  of  the  opposite  forces,  was  Benjamin 
Disraeli — in  his  later  years  Earl  of  Beaconsfield — the  high-priest 
of  expediency,  one  of  the  most  skilful  of  Parliamentarians  and 
ablest  of  party  leaders,  and  a  man  with  but  one  object  in  view,  the 


408  VICTORIA '  S  GREA  T  MINISTERS 

supremacy  of  England  in  the  world's  councils,  right  or  wrong,  and 
with  it  his  own  supremacy  as  England's  uncrowned  ruler. 

For  many  years  the  struggle  between  these  two  powerful  men 
continued.  Plumed  knights  of  politics,  their  battle  was  fought,  now 
on  the  floor  of  Parliament,  now  in  the  open  field  of  public  debate. 
Now  one,  now  the  other,  was  victorious,  and  for  many  years  Eng- 
land rang  with  their  names.  Their  Royal  Lady,  the  Queen,  loved 
Gladstone,  the  champion  of  moral  right. 

Her  feeling  towards  Disraeli  varied  with  the  progress  of  his 
career.  At  its  outset  she  viewed  him  with  suspicion  and  distrust, 
but  in  his  later  life  she  grew  to  value  him  as  a  statesman  and  a 
friend  more  than  any  Prime  Minister  after  Peel  and  Aberdeen.  His 
policy  of  Imperialism  she  was  in  full  accord  with,  and  there  was 
no  statesman  of  her  reign  to  whom  she  gave  higher  regard  and 
friendship. 

THE    REFORM    BILL    OF     1 866 

The  great  measure  which  brought  Gladstone  and  Disraeli — 
opponents  through  their  whole  Parliamentary  careers  —  most 
actively  into  contest,  was  the  Reform  Bill  of  1866,  introduced  by 
Gladstone,  then  leader  of  the  House  and  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  under  Earl  Russell.  This  Bill  proposed  to  extend  the 
franchise  in  counties  and  boroughs,  and  would  have  added  about 
400,000  voters  to  the  electorate.  In  the  debate  that  followed 
there  was  a  grand  oratorical  contest  between  the  hostile  statesmen. 
Disraeli  spoke  sneeringly  of  Gladstone's  youthful  speech  in  1831 
against  the  first  Reform  Bill.  Gladstone  replied  in  a  burst  of 
noble  eloquence,  scoring  his  opponent  for  lingering  in  the  toils  of 
conservatism,  and  proudly  sustaining  his  own  conversion  to  liberal- 
ism. If  the  Bill  fell  the  principle  of  right  and  justice,  on  which  it 
was  founded,  would  not  fall.  It  was  sure  to  triumph  in  the  end. 

Disraeli  and  his  party  won.  The  Bill  was  defeated.  But  its 
defeat  roused  the  people  almost  as  they  had  been  roused  in  1832. 
A  formidable  riot  broke  out  in  London.  Ten  thousand  people 
marched  in  procession  past  Gladstone's  residence,  singing  odes  in 


VICTORIA'S  GREAT  MINISTERS  409 

honor  of  "the  People's  William."  There  were  demonstrations  in 
his  favor  and  in  support  of  the  Bill  througout  the  country.  The 
agitation  continued  during  the  winter,  its  fire  fed  by  the  eloquence 
of  another  of  the  great  orators  of  the  century,  the  "tribune  of  the 
people,"  John  Bright,  who  became  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  new 
campaign.  Through  his  eloquence  and  that  of  Gladstone  the 
force  of  public  opinion  rose  to  such  a  height  that  the  new  Derby- 
Disraeli  ministry  found  itself  obliged  to  bring  in  a  bill  similar  to 
that  which  it  had  worked  so  hard  to  overthrow. 

And  now  a  striking  event  took  place.  The  Tory  Reform  Bill 
was  satisfactory  to  Gladstone  in  its  general  features,  but  he  pro- 
posed many  improvements — lodger  franchise,  educational  and 
savings-bank  franchises,  enlargement  of  the  redistribution  of  seats, 
etc. — every  one  of  which  was  yielded  in  committee,  until,  as  one 
lord  remarked,  nothing  of  the  original  bill  remained  but  the  open- 
ing word,  "  Whereas."  This  bill,  really  the  work  of  Gladstone, 
and  more  liberal  than  the  one  which  had  been  defeated,  was 
passed,  and  Toryism,  in  the  very  success  of  its  measure,  suffered  a 
crushing  defeat.  To  Gladstone,  as  the  people  perceived,  their  right 
to  vote  was  due. 

But  Disraeli  was  soon  to  attain  to  the  exalted  office  for  which 
he  had  long  been  striving.  In  February,  1868,  failing  health 
caused  Lord  Derby  to  resign,  and  Disraeli  was  asked  to  form  a 
new  administration.  Thus  the  "Asian  Mystery,"  as  he  had  been 
entitled,  reached  the  summit  of  his  ambition,  in  becoming  Prime 
Minister  of  England. 

He  was  not  to  hold  this  position  long.  Gladstone  was  to 
reach  the  same  high  eminence  before  the  year  should  end. 
Disraeli's  government,  beginning  in  February,  1868,  was  defeated 
on  the  disestablishment  of  the  Irish  Church ;  an  appeal  to  the 
country  resulted  in  a  large  Liberal  gain  ;  and  on  December  4th  the 
Queen  sent  for  Mr.  Gladstone  and  commissioned  him  to  form  a 
new  ministry.  The  task  was  completed  by  the  Qth,  Mr.  Bright, 
who  had  aided  so  greatly  in  the  triumph  of  the  Liberals,  entering 

23 


410  VICTORIA'S  GREAT  MINISTERS 

the  new  cabinet  as  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade.  Thus  at  last, 
after  thirty-five  years  of  active  public  life,  Mr.  Gladstone  was  at  the 
summit  of  power — Prime  Minister  of  Great  Britain  with  a  strong 
majority  in  Parliament  in  his  support. 

The  period  which  followed  the  election  in  1868 — the  period  of 
the  Gladstone  Administration  of  i868-'/4 — has  been  called  "the 
golden  age  of  Liberalism."  It  was  certainly  a  period  of  great 
reforms.  The  first,  the  most  heroic,  and  probably — taking  all  the 
^results  into  account — the  most  completely  successful  of  these, 
was  the  disestablishment  of  the  Irish  Church. 

Though  Mr.  Gladstone  had  a  great  majority  at  his  back,  the 
difficulties  which  confronted  him  were  immense.  In  Ireland  the 
wildest  protests  emanated  from  the  friends  of  the  Establishment. 
The  "  loyal  minority  "  declared  that  their  loyalty  would  come  to 
an  end  if  the  measure  were  passed.  One  synod,  speaking  with  a 
large  assumption,  even  for  a  synod,  of  inspired  knowledge, 
denounced  it  as  "  highly  offensive  to  the  Almighty  God."  The 
Orangemen  threatened  to  rise  in  insurrection.  A  martial  clergy- 
man proposed  to  "kick  the  Queen's  crown  into  the  Boyne  "  if  she 
assented  to  such  a  bill.  Another  announced  his  intention  of  fight- 
ing with  the  Bible  in  one  hand  and  the  sword  in  the  other.  These 
appeals  and  these  threats  of  civil  war,  absurd  as  they  proved  to  be 
in  reality,  were  not  without  producing  some  effect  in  Great  Britain, 
and  it  was  amid  a  din  of  warnings,  of  misgiving  counsels,  and  of 
hostile  cries,  that  Mr.  Gladstone  proceeded  to  carry  out  the  man- 
date of  the  nation  which  he  had  received  at  the  polls. 

On  the  first  of  March,  1869,  he  introduced  his  Disestablish- 
ment Bill.  His  speech  was  one  of  the  greatest  marvels  amongst 
his  oratorical  achievements.  His  chief  opponent  declared  that, 
though  it  lasted  three  hours,  it  did  not  contain  a  redundant  word. 
The  scheme  which  it  unfolded — a  scheme  which  withdrew  the  tem- 
poral establishment  of  a  Church  in  such  a  manner  that  the  Church 
was  benefited,  not  injured,  and  which  lifted  from  the  backs  of  an 
oppressed  people  an  intolerable  burden — was  a  triumph  of  creative 


VICTORIA'S  GREAT  MINISTERS  411 

genius.  Leaving  aside  his  Budgets,  which  stand  in  a  different 
category,  it  seems  to  us  there  is  no  room  to  doubt  that  in  his 
record  of  constructive  legislation  this  measure  for  the  disestab- 
lishment of  the  Irish  Church  is  Mr.  Gladstone's  most  perfect 
masterpiece. 

Disraeli's  speech  in  opposition  to  this  measure  was  referred  to 
by  the  London  Times  as  "  flimsiness  relieved  by  spangles."  After  a 
debate  in  which  Mr.  Bright  made  one  of  his  most  famous  speeches, 
the  Bill  was  carried  by  a  majority  of  118.  Before  this  strong  mani- 
festation of  the  popular  will  the  House  of  Lords,  which  deeply 
disliked  the  Bill,  felt  obliged  to  give  way,  and  passed  it  by  a  majority 
of  seven. 

VICTORIA    ACTS    BY    ROYAL    WARRANT 

In  1870  Mr.  Gladstone  introduced  his  Irish  Land  Bill,  a 
measure  of  reform  which  Parliament  had  for  years  refused  to  grant. 
By  it  the  tenant  was  given  the  right  to  hold  his  farm  as  long  as  he 
paid  his  rent,  and  received  a  claim  upon  the  improvement  made 
by  himself  and  his  predecessors — a  tenant-right  which  he  could 
sell.  This  Bill  was  triumphantly  carried.  It  was  followed  by 
other  important  Liberal  measures,  a  Bill  establishing  free  secular 
education,  vote  by  ballot, — one  of  the  measures  demanded  by  the 
Chartists, — and  abolition  of  the  purchase  of  army  commissions, — 
in  which  latter  measure  Gladstone  came  into  violent  conflict  with 
the  House  of  Lords.  He  carried  it  by  an  autocratic  action.  Find- 
ing that  purchase  in  the  army  existed,  not  by  law,  but  simply 
by  royal  sanction,  he  advised  the  Queen  to  cancel  it  by  royal  war- 
rant. This  was  done.  It  was  the  only  time  in  Victoria's  reign 
that  she  acted  without  parliamentary  sanction,  and  the  act  was 
denounced  as  unconstitutional,  and  as  Caesarism  and  Cromwell- 
ism  ;  but  Gladstone  was  resolute  enough  to  sustain  it  against 
all  hostile  criticism. 

The  tide  of  reform  legislation  came  to  an  end  in  1873,  the 
government  meeting  with  defeat.  Gladstone  resigned,  but  as 
Disraeli  declined  to  form  a  government,  he  was  obliged  to  resume 


412  VICTORIA'S  GREAT  MINISTERS 

office.  In  1874  he  dissolved  Parliament  and  appealed  for  support 
to  the  country.  The  election  went  against  him  and  he  again  re- 
signed. Diraeli  now  succeeded  him  as  Prime  Minister,  Gladstone 
retiring  to  private  life. 

The  new  Minister  adopted  a  policy  of  Imperialism,  which,  in 
1852,  he  had  distinctly  opposed.  In  that  year  he  wrote  to  the 
Foreign  Secretary :  "  These  wretched  colonies  will  all  be  indc 
pendent  in  a  few  years,  and  are  a  millstone  round  our  necks."  His 
views  since  then  had  undergone  a  revolution,  and  he  now  posed  as 
the  great  advocate  of  colonial  expansion,  and  of  the  development 
of  the  Indian  Empire. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  English  people  conquered  and  colo- 
nized half  the  world  in  a  fit  of  absence  of  mind.  It  remained  for 
this  statesman  of  Jewish  birth  to  point  out  that  the  achievement 
was  a  notable  one,  and  that  the  secret  of  England's  glory  and 
strength  lay  in  the  development  of  her  colonial  dominion.  The 
remainder  of  Disraeli's  life  was  largely  spent  in  carrying  forward 
a  policy  of  imperial  outgrowth,  of  which  one  of  the  most  showy  and 
dramatic  pictures  was  the  enactment,  in  1876,  of  a  measure  giving 
the  Queen  the  title  of  Empress  of  India,  and  proclaiming  this  fact 
to  her  Indian  subjects  in  1877. 

When  the  measure  was  first  proposed  it  was  very  unpopular. 
People  thought  that  to  put  such  a  brand-new  piece  of  tinsel  upon 
the  old  crown  of  England  was  childish  and  vulgar.  Its  advocates 
replied  that  it  would  impress  the  Eastern  mind,  and  that  the  title 
would  never  be  used  in  England,  so  the  Royal  Titles  Bill  gained 
the  consent  of  Parliament. 

Accompanied  by  splendid  ceremonial,  the  proclamation,  at  the 
command  of  Lord  Lytton,  the  Viceroy,  was  read  by  heralds  in 
different  languages,  and  after  each  reading  salvoes  of  artillery  were 
fired.  The  native  Princes,  with  the  new  banners  that  had  been 
presented  to  them,  their  gorgeously-dressed  retinues,  and  the  hun- 
dreds of  elephants  that  were  arranged  behind  their  chairs,  made 
not  the  least  striking  picture  in  the  pageant. 


QUEEN  VICTORIA 
Scenes  in  her  official  and  domestic  life. 


VICTORIA'S  GREAT  MINISTERS  415 

"  The  sports  of  children  satisfy  the  child,"  and  what  gratified 
the  chiefs  most  was  the  addition  made  in  several  instances  to  the 
number  of  guns  in  their  salutes.  Very  popular,  too,  were  the 
hereditary  titles  conferred  in  honor  of  the  occasion  upon  some  of 
the  ruling  chiefs  ;  thus  the  Guicowar  was  to  be  styled  "  Child  of 
ihe  English  Government,"  Scindia,  "The  Sword  of  the  Empire," 
•and  the  Maharajah  of  Cashmere,  "The  Shield  of  the  Indian 
Empire."  Disraeli  himself  was  rewarded  by  his  Royal  Mistress  by 
being  raised  to  the  peerage  with  the  title  of  Earl  of  Beaconsfield. 

The  atrocities  committed  by  the  Turks  in  Bulgaria  in  1876 
called  Gladstone  again  into  the  field,  and  he  denounced  these 
butcheries  with  all  the  strength  of  his  vigorous  rhetoric  and  the 
fire  of  his  moral  energy  —  calling  the  Government  sharply  to 
account  for  its  support  of  a  nation  of  assassins.  For  four  years  he 
sought,  as  he  expressed  it,  "  night  and  day  to  counterwork  the  pur- 
pose of  Lord  Beaconsfield."  He  succeeded.  England  was  pre- 
vented by  his  eloquence  from  joining  the  Turks  in  the  war ;  but 
he  excited  the  fury  of  the  war  party  to  such  an  extent  that  at  one 
time  it  was  not  safe  for  him  to  appear  in  the  streets  of  London. 
Nor  was  he  quite  safe  in  the  House  of  Commons,  where  the  Con- 
servatives hated  him  so  bitterly  as  to  jeer  and  interrupt  him  when- 
ever he  spoke,  and  a  party  of  them  went  so  far  as  to  mob  him  in 
the  House. 

THE  QUEEN'S  REGARD  FOR  DISRAELI 

Yet  the  sentiment  he  had  aroused  saved  the  country  from  the 
greatest  of  the  follies  with  which  it  was  threatened  ;  and,  if  it  failed 
to  stop  the  lesser  adventures  in  which  Lord  Beaconsfield  found  an 
outlet  for  the  passions  he  had  unloosed, — an  annexation  of  Cyprus, 
an  interference  in  Egypt,  a  suzerainty  over  the  Transvaal,  a  Zulu  war 
which  Mr.  Gladstone  denounced  as  "one  of  the  most  monstrous  and 
indefensible  in  our  history,"  an  Afghan  war  which  he  described  as  a 
national  crime, — it  nevertheless  was  so  true  an  interpretation  of 
the  best,  the  deliberate,  judgment  of  the  nation,  tha.t  it  sufficed 
eventually  to  bring  the  Liberal  party  back  to  power. 


4i6  VICTORIAS  GREAT  MINISTERS 

In  the  parliamentary  election  of  1880  a  great  Liberal  victory 
was  gained  and  an  overwhelming  majority  returned  to  Parliament. 
Beaconsfield  at  once  resigned,  and  Gladstone  a  second  time  was 
called  to  the  head  of  the  government.  This  was  the  end  of 
Disraeli's  career.  He  died  in  the  following  year.  The  Queen 
showed  her  warm  regard  for  him  by  the  memorial  tablet  which  she 
placed  in  Haghenden  Church,  and  on  which  was  the  following 
inscription,  written  by  herself  : 

To  THE  DEAR  AND  HONORED  MEMORY  OF 
BENJAMIN,  EARL  OF  BEACONSFIELD, 

THIS  MEMORIAL  is  PLACED  BY 
His  GRATEFUL  AND  AFFECTIONATE  SOVEREIGN  AND  FRIEND, 

VICTORIA.  R.  I. 
"  Kings  love  them  that  speak  right." — Prov.  xvi,  13. 

In  Gladstone's  new  administration  the  Irish  question,  which 
had  been  dwarfed  by  the  Eastern  problem  under  Beaconsfield's 
rule,  rose  again  into  prominence.  Gladstone,  in  assuming  control 
of  the  new  government,  was  quite  unaware  of  the  task  before  him. 
When  he  had  completed  his  work  with  the  Church  and  the  Land 
Bills,  ten  years  before,  he  fondly  fancied  that  the  Irish  question 
was  definitely  settled.  The  Home  Rule  movement,  which  was 
started  in  1870,  seemed  to  him  a  wild  delusion  which  would  die 
away  of  itself.  In  1884  he  said  :  "  I  frankly  admit  that  I  had  had 
much  upon  my  hands  connected  with  the  doings  of  the  Beacons- 
field  Government  in  every  quarter  of  the  world,  and  I  did  not 
know — no  one  knew — the  severity  of  the  crisis  that  was  already 
swelling  upon  the  horizon,  and  that  shortly  after  rushed  upon  us 
like  a  flood." 

He  was  not  long  in  discovering  the  gravity  of  the  situation,  of 
which  the  House  had  been  warned  by  Mr.  Parnell.  The  famine 
had  brought  its  crop  of  misery,  and,  while  the  charitable  were  seek- 
ing to  relieve  the  distress,  many  of  the  landlords  were  turning 
adrift  their  tenants  for  non-payment  of  rents.  The  Irish  party 


VICTORIA '  5  ORE  A  T  MINISTERS  4 1 7 

brought  in  a  Bill  for  the  Suspension  of  Evictions,  which  the  gov- 
ernment replaced  by  a  similar  one  for  Compensation  for  Disturb- 
ance. This  was  passed  with  a  large  majority  by  the  Commons, 
but  was  rejected  by  the  Lords,  and  Ireland  was  left  to  face  its 
misery  without  relief. 

The  state  of  Ireland  at  that  moment  was  too  critical  to  be 
dealt  with  in  this  manner.  The  rejection  of  the  Compensation  for 
Disturbance  Bill  was,  to  the  peasantry  whom  it  had  been  intended 
to  protect,  a  message  of  despair,  and  it  was  followed  by  the  usual 
symptom  of  despair  in  Ireland,  an  outbreak  of  agrarian  crime.  On 
the  one  hand  over  17,000  persons  were  evicted  ;  on  the  other  there 
was  a  dreadful  crop  of  murders  and  outrages.  The  Land  League 
sought  to  do  what  Parliament  did  not ;  but  in  doing  so  it  came  in 
contact  with  the  law.  Moreover,  the  revolution — for  revolution  it 
seemed  to  be — ijrew  too  formidable  for  its  control ;  the  utmost  it 

o 

succeeded  in  doing  was  in  some  sense  to  ride  without  directing 
the  storm. 

To  put  down  the  disturbances  a  Coercion  Bill  was  carried 
through  Parliament  in  1881,  despite  a  very  vigorous  and  protracted 
resistance  by  Parnell  and  his  followers.  As  a  counterweight  to  it 
and  as  a  measure  of  conciliation,  Gladstone  introduced  a  Land 
Bill.  It  was  a  sweeping  measure  of  reform,  its  dominant  feature 
being  the  principle  of  the  State  intervening  between  landlord  and 
tenant  and  fixing  the  amount  of  rent  to  be  paid.  Yet  it  did  not 
put  an  end  to  the  agitation.  Crime  and  outrage  continued,  and  a 
terrible  event  which  took  place  soon  afterward,  the  murder  of  Lord 
Cavendish,  the  new  Secretary  for  Ireland,  and  his  under-Secretary, 
Mr.  Burke,  in  Phoenix  Park,  Dublin,  brought  back  coercion  into  the 
field. 

While  Ireland  was  thus  disturbed,  Gladstone  found  himself 
forced  into  the  .arena  formerly  occupied  by  Beaconsfield,  that  of 
Eastern  affairs.  Great  Britain  had  assumed  the  control  of  the  Suez 
Canal,  and  made  this  an  excuse  for  meddling  with  the  government 
of  Egypt.  The  result  was  the  insurrection  of  Arabi  Pasha,  and  a. 


4i8  VICTORIA'S  GREAT  MINISTERS 

\var  into  which  Gladstone  was  reluctantly  forced.  Then  came  the 
outbreak  of  the  Mahdi  in  the  Soudan,  the  murder  of  General 
Gordon  in  Khartum,  and  conflicts  in  that  quarter  which  lasted  for 
years.  In  South  Africa  the  Boers  defeated  the  British  at  Majuba 
Hill,  and  Gladstone,  who  had  no  sympathy  with  the  effort  to  conquer 
the  Transvaal,  withdrew  the  British  forces,  leaving  the  Boers 
masters  of  the  situation.  It  would  have  been  well  for  Great  Britain 
if  this  pacific  policy  had  been  sustained  till  the  end  of  the  century. 

THE    QUEEN    SUMMONS    LORD    SALISBURY 

This  disaster  weakened  the  administration.  Parnell  and  his 
followers  joined  hands  with  the  Tories  and  continued  their  attacks. 
The  result  was  a  defeat  to  the  government,  in  May,  1885.  Glad- 
stone at  once  withdrew,  and,  his  old  antagonist  having  passed  from 
the  field  of  action,  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury  was  called  upon  by  the 
Queen  to  form  a  new  Ministry.  It  proved  but  a  brief  one.  Owing 
its  existence  to  Irish  votes,  it  fell  as  soon  as  Parnell  led  his  followers 
away  from  their  unnatural  alliance  with  the  Tories,  and  Gladstone 
was  again  sent  for  by  the  Queen.  On  February  u,  1886,  he 
became  Prime  Minister  for  the  third  time. 

During  the  brief  interval  his  opinions  had  suffered  a  great 
revolution.  He  no  longer  thought  that  Ireland  had  all  it  could 
justly  demand.  He  returned  to  power  as  an  advocate  of  a  most 
radical  measure,  that  of  Home  Rule  for  Ireland,  a  restoration  of 
that  separate  Parliament  which  it  had  lost  in  1800.  He  also  had  a 
scheme  to  buy  out  the  Irish  landlords  and  establish  a  peasant 
proprietary  by  State  aid.  His  new  views  were  revolutionary  in 
character,  but  he  did  not  hesitate — he  never  hesitated  to  do  what 
his  conscience  told  him  was  right.  On  April  8,  1886,  he  introduced 
to  Parliament  his  Home  Rule  Bill. 

The  scene  that  afternoon  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in 
Parliamentary  history.  Never  before  was  such  interest  manifested 
in  a  debate  by  either  the  public  or  the  members  of  the  House.  In 
order  to  secure  their  places,  members  arrived  at  St.  Stephen's  at 


VICTORIA'S  GREAT  MINISTERS  419 

six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  spent  the  day  on  the  premises  ;  and  a 
thing  quite  unprecedented,  members  who  could  not  find  places  on 
the  benches  filled  up  the  floor  of  the  House  with  rows  of  chairs. 
The  strangers',  diplomats',  peers'  and  ladies'  galleries  were  filled  to 
overflowing.  Men  begged  even  to  be  admitted  to  the  ventilating 
passages  beneath  the  floor  of  the  Chamber,  that  they  might  in 
some  sense  be  witnesses  of  the  greatest  feat  in  the  lifetime  of  an 
illustrious  old  man  of  eighty.  Around  Palace  Yard  an  enormous 
crowd  surged,  waiting  to  give  the  veteran  a  welcome  as  he  drove  up 
from  Downing  Street. 

Mr.  Gladstone  arrived  in  the  House,  pale  and  still  panting  from 
the  excitement  of  his  reception  in  the  streets.  As  he  sat  there  the 
entire  liberal  party — with  the  exception  of  Lord  Hartington,  Sir 
Henry  James,  Mr.  Chamberlain  and  Sir  George  Trevelyan — and 
the  Nationalist  members,  by  a  spontaneous  impulse  sprang  to  their 
feet  and  cheered  him  again  and  again.  The  speech  which  he 
delivered  was  in  every  way  worthy  of  the  occasion.  It  expounded, 
with  marvelous  lucidity  and  a  noble  eloquence,  a  tremendous  scheme 
of  constructive  legislation — the  re-establishment  of  a  legislature  in 
Ireland,  but  one  subordinate  to  the  Imperial  P?n.iament,  and  hedged 
round  with  every  safeguard  which  could  protect  the  unity  of  the 
Empire.  It  took  three  hours  in  delivery,  and  was  listened  to 
throughout  with  the  utmost  attention  on  every  side  of  the  House. 
At  its  close  all  parties  united  in  a  tribute  of  admiration  for  the 
genius  which  had  astonished  them  with  such  an  exhibition  of  its 
powers. 

Yet  it  is  one  thing  to  cheer  an  orator,  another  thing  to  vote 
for  a  revolution.  The  Bill  was  defeated — as  it  was  almost  sure  to 
be.  Mr.  Gladstone  at  once  dissolved  Parliament  and  appealed  to 
the  country  in  a  new  election,  with  the  result  that  he  was  decisively 
defeated.  His  bold  declaration  that  the  contest  was  one  between 
the  classes  and  the  masses  turned  the  aristocracy  against  him,  while 
he  had  again  roused  the  bitter  hatred  of  his  opponents. 


42o  VICTORIA'S  GREAT  MINISTERS 

But  the  "  Grand  Old  Man  "  bided  his  time.  The  new  Salisbury 
ministry  was  one  of  coercion  carried  to  the  extreme  in  Ireland, 
wholesale  eviction,  arrest  of  members  of  Parliament,  suppression 
of  public  meetings  by  force  of  arms,  and  other  measures  of  violence 
which  in  the  end  wearied  the  British  public  and  doubled  the  sup- 
port of  Home  Rule.  In  1892  Mr.  Gladstone  returned  to  power 
with  a  majority  of  more  than  thirty  Home  Rulers  in  his  support. 

THE    END    OF    A    GREAT    CAREER 

It  was  one  of  the  greatest  efforts  in  the  career  of  the  old  parlia- 
mentary hero  when  he  brought  his  new  Home  Rule  Bill  before 
the  House.  Never  in  his  young  days  had  he  worked  more  earn- 
estly and  incessantly.  He  disarmed  even  his  bitterest  enemies, 
none  of  whom  now  dreamed  of  treating  him  with  disrespect.  Mr. 
Balfour  spoke  of  the  delight  and  fascination  with  which  even  his 
opponents  watched  his  leading  of  the  House  and  listened  to  his 
unsurpassed  eloquence.  Old  age  had  come  to  clothe  with  its  pathos, 
as  well  as  with  its  majesty,  the  white-haired,  heroic  figure.  The 
event  proved  one  of  the  greatest  triumphs  of  his  life.  The  Bill 
passed  with  a  majority  of  thirty-four.  That  it  would  pass  in  the 
House  of  Lords  no  one  looked  for.  It  was  defeated  there  by  a 
majority  of  378  out  of  460. 

With  this  great  event  Gladstone's  public  career  came  to  an 
end.  The  burden  had  grown  too  heavy  for  his  reduced  strength. 
In  March,  1894,  to  t^6  consternation  of  his  party,  he  announced 
his  intention  of  retiring  from  public  life.  The  Queen  offered,  as 
she  had  done  once  before,  to  raise  him  to  the  peerage  as  an  earl, 
but  he  declined  the  proffer.  His  own  plain  name  was  a  title  higher 
than  that  of  any  earldom  in  the  kingdom. 

On  May  19,  1898,  William  Ewart  Gladstone  laid  down  the 
burden  of  his  life  as  he  had  already  done  that  of  labor.  The 
greatest  and  noblest  figure  in  legislative  life  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury had  passed  away  from  earth, 


VICTORIA'S  GREAT  MINISTERS  421 

Gladstone  was  succeeded  in  the  Ministry  by  the  Earl  of  Rose- 
bery,  who  had  been  Foreign  Secretary  in  his  recent  administration. 
The  new  Minister's  term  of  office  was  a  brief  one,  his  party  being 
defeated  at  the  general  election  in  June,  1895.  He  retired  from 
the  Premiership,  and  Lord  Salisbury  became  for  a  third  time  Prime 
Minister  of  England,  at  the  head  of  a  Liberal-Unionist  and  Con- 
servative Cabinet.  For  the  time  the  question  of  Home  Rule  for 
Ireland  was  at  an  end. 

The  Salisbury  administration  continued  during  the  remainder 
of  the  Queen's  life.  It  was  marked  by  a  series  of  foreign  compli- 
cations which  several  times  brought  the  government  to  the  verge 
of  war.  This  was  averted  by  the  conciliatory  attitude  of  the 
administration — no  doubt  influenced  in  this  by  the  wishes  of  the 
Queen.  Turkish  massacres  in  Armenia  almost  plunged  Europe 
into  war.  The  part  taken  by  the  United  States  in  the  boundary 
question  between  British  Guiana  and  Venezuela  threatened  hostili- 
ties between  the  two  great  Anglo-Saxon  countries.  The  Jameson 
raid  into  the  Transvaal  led  to  critical  relations  between  the  British 
and  the  Boers.  The  Cretan  insurrection  and  the  war  in  Greece 
tested  strongly  the  peaceful  policy  of  Salisbury's  cabinet. 

All  this  passed  away  without  an  outbreak,  the  re-conquest  of 
the  Soudan  being  the  only  warlike  demonstration  in  the  early  years 
of  the  administration.  Near  its  end,  however,  a  threatening  contest 
broke  out,  the  war  of  conquest  in  South  Africa,  led  to,  as  is  widely 
believed,  less  through  a  conviction  of  any  just  claim  of  Great 
Britain  to  sovereignty  over  the  Boer  republics  than  through  a  desire 
to  possess  the  rich  gold  mines  of  the  Transvaal.  However  this  be, 
the  British  entered  this  war  in  the  autumn  of  1899  wi^1  a  jauntv 
confidence  that  they  could  bring  it  to  an  end  in  a  campaign  of  a 
month  or  two  and  establish  their  dominion  over  all  Southeastern 
Africa.  Nothing  need  be  said  here  about  the  very  serious  error 
they  made  in  this.  The  twentieth  century  dawned,  the  Queen 
passed  away,  and  the  Boers  were  still  unsubdued,  though  Great 
Britain  had  spent  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  and  lost  many 


42  2  VIC7  OKI  A '  S  ORE  A  T  MINISTERS 

thousands  of  her  valiant  sons.  And,  furthermore,  the  sympathy  of 
the  whole  outer  world  was  with  the  gallant  Boers,  not  with  their 
invaders. 

A    TERRIBLE    LOAD    FOR    THE    AGED    SOVEREIGN 

Thus  unhappily  closed  the  political  record  of  the  Queen's 
reign.  Nothing  in  her  whole  life  bore  more  heavily  on  her  than 
this  dreadful  contest — now  not  with  savage  or  barbarous  peoples, 
but  with  European  colonists.  The  weight  of  disaster  to  her  country 
and  death  to  her  subjects  was  a  terrible  load  for  the  aged  Sovereign 
to  bear,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  had  much  to  do  with 
bringing  her  to  the  grave.  It  is  said  that  tears  were  rarely  absent 
from  her  eyes  when  the  thought  of  this  conflict  came  to  her,  and  it 
is  doubtful  if  the  vision  of  its  horrors  often  left  her  mind.  Her 
grief  and  dismay  are  said  to  have  been  added  to  by  interviews  with 
Lord  Roberts,  Lord  Salisbury,  and  Mr.  Chamberlain,  in  which  she 
learned  from  them  some  disquieting  truths,  kept  from  the  public, 
about  the  serious  state  of  affairs  in  South  Africa.  William  I.  Stead, 
in  a  dispatch  to  the  New  York  Journal,  said :  "  The  Boer  war  has 
killed  the  Queen."  So  it  may  be  correct  to  affirm  that  among  the 
victims  of  the  British-Boer  war  was  the  revered  Queen  of  the 
British  Kingdom. 

Queen  Victoria  took  only  one  open  political  action  during  this 
conflict,  her  visit  to  Ireland,  which  was  memorable  for  the  loyal 
reception  with  which  she  was  honored.  The  sympathies  of  the 
Irish  people  generally  were  with  the  South  African  republics  in 
their  resolute  struggle  to  preserve  their  independence,  but  they  did 
not  hold  the  aged  Queen  in  any  sense  responsible  for  this  war,  and 
she  was  everywhere  greeted  with  chivalrous  respect.  Every  imagin- 
able danger  was  pointed  out  and  impressed  upon  the  Queen  if  she 
ventured  upon  the  journey,  but  she  would  not  abandon  it,  and  its 
result  fully  justified  her  confidence  in  the  Irish  people.  Then  there 
came  a  sudden  revulsion  of  feeling  in  England,  and  for  a  time  the 
shamrock  was  the  most  popular  emblem  seen  in  the  streets  of 
London. 


0-  -2 
O  a 
>  3 

si 


O  " 

O   = 

2   §• 

II 

«5 
2  ' 
x 

o 


VICTORIA'S  GREAT  MINISTERS  425 

But  it  would  not  be  wise  to  imagine  that  the  aspirations  of 
Ireland  for  Home  Rule  were  charmed  away  by  the  magic  of  a  royal 
visit.  The  people  of  Green  Erin  showed  their  native  courtesy  in 
the  reception  of  the  Queen,  but  their  national  aspirations  remained 
the  same  as  before. 

THE  QUEEN'S  FAIRNESS 

To  return  to  the  subject  of  the  Queen's  Ministers,  it  has 
often  been  said  that  she  had  a  personal  liking  for  this  Prime  Min- 
ister and  a  personal  disinclination  for  the  manners  of  some  other 
Prime  Minister.  One  statesman  was  said,  by  gossiping  report,  to 
have  been  rather  too  argumentative  and  dogmatic  for  the  Queen, 
and  another  to  be  too  subservient  and  anxious  to  please.  A  cer- 
tain Liberal  Minister  was  believed  to  have  won  favorable  notice 
from  her  Majesty  when  he  first  received  office  because  he  could 
speak  German  perfectly  well,  and  a  rising  Conservative  statesman 
was  described  as  having  made  himself  welcome  to  her  by  his  easy 
and  luminous  exposition  of  complex  and  difficult  subjects.  But  it 
is  doubtful  if  the  Queen  liked  or  disliked  any  statesman  because 
he  was  a  Liberal  or  because  he  was  a  Tory.  She  rather  seems  to 
have  accepted  in  the  best  faith  every  Ministry  recommended  to  her 
by  the  existing  majority  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  made  it 
her  task  to  assist  her  Ministers  to  the  utmost  of  her  power  in  carry- 
ing on  the  business  of  the  country  during  their  time  of  office.  Not 
even  the  most  extreme  Radical  has  charged  Queen  Victoria  with 
acting  unfairly  in  the  business  of  government,  or  seeking  to 
exclude  a  rising  public  man  from  her  councils  on  the  ground  that 
his  political  opinions  were  too'  Democratic  to  suit  her  ideas  of 
statesmanship. 

We  have  seen  all  sorts  of  monarchs  in  Europe,  even  during 
the  lifetime  of  the  present  generation.  We  have  seen  sovereigns 
who  wanted  to  arrange  the  whole  work  of  government  "  out  of 
their  own  heads,"  as  the  children  say,  and  we  have  seen  monarchs 
who  cared  little  how  or  by  whom  the  political  business  of  the  State 


426  VICTORIAS  GREAT  MINISTERS 

was  carried  on  so  long  as  their  Ministers  left  them  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  life  after  their  own  fashion  and  did  not  trouble  them  about 
wearisome  legislation.  Queen  Victoria  was  not  of  this  kind.  She 
never  neglected  her  duties  as  head  of  the  State,  and  she  never 
tried  to  make  her  sovereign  will  prevail  over  the  authority  repre- 
sented by  the  House  of  Commons.  No  one  who  understands  and 
accepts  the  theory  of  a  constitutional  monarchy  can  deny  to  her 
the  merit  of  having,  throughout  her  long  reign,  given  to  the  world 
the  best  living  illustration  it  has  yet  had  of  the  part  which  the 
sovereign  ought  to  play  in  a  constitutional  monarchy  and  a  free 
country. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

The    Industrial    and    Commercial    Development 

of  Great    Britain 

INDUSTRY  in  the  past  centuries  was  a  strikingly  different  thing 
from  what  it  has  been  in  the  recent  period.  For  a  century  it 

has  been  passing  through  a  great  process  of  evolution,  which 
has  by  no  means  reached  its  culmination,  and  whose  final  outcome 
no  man  can  safely  predict. 

For  a  long  period  during  the  medieval  and  the  subsequent  cen- 
turies industry  existed  in  a  stable  condition,  or  one  whose  changes 
were  few  and  none  of  them  revolutionary.  Manufacture  was  in  a 
large  sense  individual.  The  great  hive  of  industry  known  as  a  fac- 
tory did  not  exist,  workshops  being  small  and  every  expert  mechanic 
able  to  conduct  business  as  a  master.  Employees  were  mainly 
apprentices,  each  of  whom  expected  to  become  a  master  mechanic, 
or,  if  he  chose  to  work  for  a  master,  did  so  with  an  independence 
that  no  longer  exists.  The  workshop  was  usually  a  portion  of  the 
dwelling,  where  the  master  worked  with  his  apprentices,  teaching 
them  the  whole  art  and  mystery  of  his  craft,  and  giving  them  knowl- 
edge of  a  complete  trade,  not  of  a  minor  portion  of  one,  as  in  our 
day. 

The  trade-union  had  its  prototype  in  the  gild.  But  this  was 
in  no  sense  a  combination  of  labor  for  protection  against  capital, 
but  of  master  workmen  to  protect  their  calling  from  being  swamped 
by  invasion  from  without.  In  truth,  when  we  go  back  into  the  past 
centuries,  it  is  to  find  ourselves  in  another  world  of  labor,  radically 
different  from  that  which  surrounds  us  to-day. 

It  was  the  steam-engine  that  precipitated  the  revolution  in 
industry.  This  great  invention  rendered  possible  labor-saving 


428      THE  INDUSTRIAL  AND  COMMERCIAL  DEVELOPMENT 

machinery.  From  working  directly  upon  the  material,  men  began 
to  work  indirectly  through  the  medium  of  machines.  As  a  result, 
the  old  household  industries  rapidly  disappeared.  Engines  and 
machines  needed  special  buildings  to  contain  them  and  large  sums 
of  money  to  purchase  them,  the  separation  of  capital  and  labor 
began,  and  the  nineteenth  century  opened  with  the  factory  system 
fully  launched  upon  the  world. 

Great  Britain,  small  as  it  was,  had  grown,  by  the  opening  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  to  be  the  leading  power  in  Europe.  Its  indus- 
tries, its  commerce,  its  enterprise  were  expanding  enormously,  and 
it  was  becoming  the  great  workshop  and  the  chief  distributor  of  the 
world.  The  raw  material  of  the  nations  flowed  through  its  ports, 
the  finished  products  of  mankind  poured  from  its  looms,  London 
became  the  great  money  center  of  the  world,  and  the  industrious 
and  enterprising  islanders  grew  rich  and  prosperous,  while  few  steps 
of  progress  and  enterprise  showed  themselves  in  any  of  the  nations 
of  the  continent 

VAST    ACCUMULATIONS    OF    CAPITAL 

The  century  of  Victoria's  reign  was  one  of  vast  accumulations 
of  capital  in  single  hands  or  under  the  control  of  companies,  the 
concentration  of  labor  in  factories  and  workshops,  the  extraordinary 
development  of  labor-saving  machines,  the  growth  of  monopolies  on 
the  one  hand  and  of  labor  unions  on  the  other,  the  revolt  of  labor 
against  the  tyranny  of  capital,  the  battle  for  shorter  hours  and 
higher  wages,  the  coming  of  \voman  into  the  labor  field  as  a  rival  of 
man,  the  development  of  economic  theories  and  industrial  organiza- 
tions, and  in  still  other  ways  the  growth  of  a  state  of  affairs  in  the 
world  of  industry  that  had  no  counterpart  in  the  past. 

In  past  times  wealth  was  largely  accumulated  in  the  hands  of 
the  nobility,  who  had  no  thought  of  using  it  productively.  Such  of 
it  as  lay  under  the  control  of  the  commonalty  \vas  applied  mainly 
for  commercial  purposes  and  in  usury,  and  comparatively  little  was 
used  in  manufacture.  This  state  of  affairs  was  brought  somewhat 
suddenly  to  an  end  by  the  inventions  above  mentioned.  Capital 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  AND  COMMERCIAL  DEVELOPMENT   429 

became  largely  diverted  to  purposes  of  manufacture,  wealth  grew 
rapidly  as  a  result  of  the  new  methods  of  production,  the  making  of 
articles  cheaply  required  costly  plants  in  buildings  and  machinery, 
which  put  production  beyond  the  reach  of  the  ordinary  artisan,  the 
old  individuality  in  labor  disappeared,  the  number  of  employers 
largely  diminished  and  that  of  employees  increased,  and  the  medi- 
eval gild  vanished,  the  workmen  finding  themselves  exposed  to  a 
state  of  affairs  unlike  that  for  which  their  old  organizations  were 
devised. 

A  radically  new  condition  of  industrial  affairs  had  come,  and 
the  working-class  was  not  prepared  to  meet  it.  Everywhere  the 
employers  became  supreme,  and  the  men  were  at  their  mercy. 
Labor  was  dismayed.  Its  unions  lost  their  industrial  character  and 
resumed  their  original  form  of  purely  benevolent  associations.  Such 
was  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Industry  was  in  a  stage  of  transition,  and  inevitably  suffered  from 
the  change.  It  was  only  at  a  later  date  that  the  idea  of  mutual  aid 
in  industry  revived,  and  the  trade  union — a  new  form  of  association 
adapted  to  the  new  situation — arose  as  the  lineal  successor  of  the 
old  society  of  artisans. 

Great  Britain  did  not  content  herself  with  going  abroad  for  the 
materials  of  her  active  industries.  She  dug  her  way  into  the  bowels 
of  the  earth,  tore  from  the  rocks  its  treasures  of  coal  and  iron,  and 
thus  obtained  the  necessary  fuel  for  her  furnaces  and  metal  for  her 
machines.  The  whole  island  resounded  with  the  ringing  of  ham- 
mers and  rattle  of  wheels,  goods  were  produced  very  far  beyond 
the  capacity  of  the  island  for  their  consumption,  and  the  vast  surplus 
was  sent  abroad  to  all  quarters  of  the  earth,  to  clothe  savages  in  far- 
off  regions,  and  to  furnish  articles  of  use  and  luxury  to  the  most 
enlightened  of  the  nations.  To  the  ship  as  a  carrier  was  soon  added 
the  locomotive  and  its  cars,  conveying  these  products  inland  with 
unprecedented  speed  from  a  thousand  ports.  And  from  America 
came  the  parallel  discovery  of  the  steamship,  signaling  the  close  of 
the  long  centuries  of  dominion  of  the  sail. 
24 


430     THE  INDUSTRIAL  AND  COMMERCIAL  DEVELOPMENT 

Years  went  on,  and  still  the  power  and  prestige  of  Great  Britain 
grew,  still  its  industry  and  commerce  spread  and  expanded,  still  its 
colonies  increased  in  population  and  new  lands  were  added  to  the 
sum,  until  the  island  empire  stood  foremost  in  industry  and  enter- 
prise among  the  nations  of  the  world,  and  its  people  reached  the 
summit  of  their  prosperity.  From  this  lofty  elevation  was  to  come, 
in  the  later  years  of  the  century,  a  slow  but  inevitable  decline,  as  the 
United  States  and  the  leading  European  nations  developed  in  indus- 
try, and  rivals  to  the  productive  and  commercial  supremacy  of  the 
British  islanders  began  to  arise  in  various  quarters  of  the  earth. 

THE    FACTORY    SYSTEM    BROUGHT    MISERY 

It  cannot  be  said  that  the  industrial  prosperity  of  Great  Britain, 
while  of  advantage  to  her  people  as  a  whole,  was  necessarily  so  to 
individuals.  While  one  portion  of  the  nation  amassed  enormous 
wealth,  the  bulk  of  the  nation  sank  into  the  deepest  poverty.  The 
factory  system  brought  with  it  oppression  and  misery  which  it  would 
need  a  century  of  industrial  revolt  to  overcome.  The  costly  wars, 
the  crushing  taxation,  the  oppressive  Corn  Laws,  which  forbade  the 
importation  of  foreign  corn,  the  extravagant  expenses  of  the  court 
and  salaries  of  officials,  all  conspired  to  depress  the  people.  Manu- 
facturies  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  few,  and  a  vast  number  of  artisans 
were  forced  to  live  from  hand  to  mouth,  and  to  labor  for  long  hours 
on  pinching  wages.  Estates  were  similarly  accumulated  in  the  hands 
of  the  few,  and  the  small  land-owner  and  trader  tended  to  disappear. 
Everything  was  taxed  to  the  utmost  it  would  bear,  while  government 
remained  blind  to  the  needs  and  sufferings  of  the  people  and  made 
no  effort  to  decrease  the  prevailing  misery. 

Thus  it  came  about  that  the  era  of  Great  Britain's  highest  pros- 
perity and  supremacy  as  a  world  power  was  the  one  of  greatest 
industrial  oppression  and  misery  at  home — a  period  marked  by 
rebellious  uprisings  among  the  people,  which  were  repressed  with 
cruel  and  bloody  severity.  It  was  a  period  of  industrial  transition, 
in  which  the  people  suffered  deeply  and  the  seeds  of  discontent  and 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  AND  COMMERCIAL  DEVELOPMENT   431 

revolt  were  widely  sown.  This  was  the  condition  of  industrial  affairs 
when  Victoria  came  to  the  throne.  The  era  of  her  reign  was  largely 
devoted  to  its  amelioration,  and  by  its  close  the  working-classes 
had  won  an  assured  position,  and  the  old-time  suffering  and  discon- 
tent were  largely  overcome.  Want  and  misery  existed  still,  abun- 
dance of  them,  but  not  among  the  members  of  the  trades-unions — 
rather  in  that  helpless  and  hopeless  stratum  of  the  population  whose 
troubles  have  so  far  proved  almost  impossible  to  reach,  much  less  to 
cure. 

If  we  look  back  a  few  years  into  the  past,  it  is  to  find  the  com- 
mercial superiority  of  England  so  overwhelming  that  no  other 
nation  came  into  comparison  with  it.  Of  the  goods  exported  from 
all  foreign  countries,  nearly  one-half  came  to  England.  The  exports 
of  England,  the  product  of  her  multitudinous  workshops,  were 
equal  to  one-third  of  those  of  all  the  rest  of  the  world.  Of  the 
seventy  million  spindles  employed  in  the  production  of  cotton 
fabrics,  forty  million  belonged  to  the  people  of  the  British  islands. 
Woolen  and  linen  fabrics,  coal,  iron,  machinery,  and  many  kinds  of 
manufactured  goods  were  produced  in  immense  quantities  and  sup- 
plied to  mankind  throughout  the  world. 

Robert  Mackenzie,  in  his  notable  work,  "The  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury," succinctly  indicates  the  earlier  state  of  affairs,  as  a  quotation 
from  his  pages  will  clearly  show : 

"  England  was  not  the  birthplace  of  the  industries  which  have 
attained  upon  her  soil  a  maturity  so  splendid.  Calicoes  were  im- 
ported from  India  long  before  they  could  be  made  in  England.  Silk- 
weaving  was  taught  us  by  the  Italians  and  French.  The  Flemings 
brought  us  our  fine  woolen  trade.  The  Venetians  showed  us  how 
to  make  glass.  France  and  Holland  were  before  us  in  paper-making, 
and  a  German  erected  our  first  paper-mill.  Cotton-printing  came  to 
us  from  France.  Although  we  had  long  made  coarse  linens,  we 
were  indebted  for  the  finer  varieties  to  Germany  and  Belgium.  Our 
cloth  was  sent  to  Holland  to  be  bleached  and  dyed.  The  Dutch 
caught  our  fish  for  us  down  to  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century.  A 


432      THE  INDUSTRIAL  AND  COMMERCIAL  DEVELOPMENT 

Dutchman  began  our  potteries.  The  Danes  and  Genoese  built  ships 
for  us.  The  Dutch  were  our  masters  in  engineering,  and  showed  us 
how  to  erect  the  wind  and  water  mills  which  presided  over  the  lowly 
dawn  of  our  manufacturing  system.  Tuscany  made  our  straw  hats. 
Much  of  our  salt  and  most  of  our  earthenware  came  from  the  Conti- 
nent. Till  nearly  the  middle  of  the  last  [the  eighteenth]  century  we 
imported  two  thirds  of  the  iron  which  we  used.  The  use  of  coal  for 
smelting  was  then  only  beginning,  and  the  infancy  of  our  gigantic 
iron-trade  was  watched  with  hostile  eyes  by  a  people  who  saw  that 
it  devoured  the  wood  which  they  needed  for  fuel.  The  industrial 
genius  of  England  awoke  late,  but  at  one  stride  it  distanced  all  com- 
petitors. 

"  Until  long  after  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  commerce 
was  strangled  by  the  impossibility  of  conveying  goods  from  one 
part  of  the  country  to  another.  \Yhile  the  English,  with  ill-directed 
heroism,  expended  life~and  treasure  in  the  worthless  strifes  of  the 
Continent,  they  were  almost  without  roads  at  home.  In  all  Europe 
there  were  no  roads  worse  than  theirs.  It  cost  forty  shillings  to 
transport  a  ton  of  coals  from  Liverpool  to  Manchester.  The  food 
of  London  was  for  the  most  part  carried  on  pack-horses.  Often  the 
large  towns  endured  famine  while  the  farmers  at  no  great  distance 
could  find  no  market  for  their  meat  and  grain.  The  peasant  raised 
his  own  food.  He  grew  his  own  flax  or  wool ;  his  wife  or  daughters 
spun  it,  and  a  neighbor  wove  it  into  cloth.  Commerce  was  impos- 
sible until  men  could  find  the  means  of  transporting  goods  from 
the  place  where  they  were  produced  to  the  place  where  there  were 
people  willing  to  make  use  of  them." 

ENGLAND'S  PREEMINENCE  IN  MANUFACTURE 

In  truth,  England's  preeminence  in  manufacture  and  commerce 
dates  no  further  back  than  the  beginning  of  the  French  Revolution, 
of  which  it  was  in  some  measure  the  product,  and  its  supreme  era 
of  development  lay  within  the  Victorian  reign.  One  does  not  need 
to  go  far  back  to  find  the  origin  of  the  cotton  trade,  that  bulwark  of 


QUEEN  VICTORIA  DISTRIBUTING  GIFTS 
Her  soldier's  children  were  remembered  at  Christmas  and  given  a  Christmas  Tree  at  Windsor  Castle, 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  AND  COMMERCIAL  DEVELOPMENT   435 

England's  supremacy.  In  1785  the  British  kingdom  exported  only 
,£800,000  worth  of  cotton  goods,  and  less  than  ^14,000,000  worth 
of  goods  of  all  kinds.  And  for  many  years  previous  her  advance 
had  been  very  slow.  But  before  the  eighteenth  century  ended  the 
steam-engine  had  been  invented,  spinning  and  weaving  machines 
were  in  existence,  and  Eli  Whitney's  cotton-gin  was  at  work  in  the 
American  fields,  setting  free  with  new  rapidity  the  valuable  cotton 
fiber.  Cheap  cotton  gave  England  her  great  opportunity.  It 
began  to  pour  into  her  ports.  By  1801  her  imports  of  cotton 
reached  21,000,000  pounds  ;  in  1830,  200,000,000  pounds  ;  in  1885, 
1,700,000,000  pounds.  In  1900  the  cotton  imports  had  made  no 
further  advance,  and  the  empire  of  the  loom  was  spreading  to  other 
lands. 

Yet  there  was  -a  check  to  the  progress  which  cheap  cotton,  the 
steam-engine,  the  spinning  machine,  and,  subsequently,  the  locomo- 
tive and  the  steamship,  began  to  bring  to  the  British  nation.  This 
was  the  system  of  protection,  the  import  duties  of  which  the  Corn 
Law  was  the  keystone.  The  repeal  of  this  law,  after  Victoria  came 
to  the  throne,  gave  an  immense  impetus  to  the  industries  of  Great 
Britain.  After  the  Corn  Law  fell,  the  whole  protective  system 
swiftly  followed.  In  1842  there  were  1200  articles  on  which  duty 
was  levied  in  British  ports.  A  few  years  later  there  were  only 
twelve — and  they  were  left  only  for  revenue.  With  this  the  artificial 
regulation  of  prices  came  to  an  end,  and  the  great  natural  law  of 
supply  and  demand  was  given  the  freest  and  fullest  liberty.  The 
British  islands  had  no  need  of  protective  duties.  No  nation  on  the 
earth  had  equal  facilities  for  production  or  could  place  goods  on  the 
market  at  lower  prices.  No  nation  had  such  facilities  for  distribu- 
tion as  arose  from  Britain's  rapidly  growing  commercial  fleet.  Pro- 
tection, to  that  country,  was  a  brake  upon  the  wheels  of  progress. 
When  it  was  lifted,  these  flew  round  with  vastly  accelerated  speed. 

In  1846  the  whole  foreign  commerce  of  the  United  Kingdom — 
imports  and  exports  combined — was  only  ^134,000,000 — five  times 
that  of  1785,  but  far  less  than  it  was  destined  to  become.  In 


436     THE  INDUSTRIAL  AND  COMMERCIAL  DEVELOPMENT 

1890  it  had  reached  the  enormous  total  of  ^748,000,000.  In  1900 
it  had  grown  to  about  ^800,000,000,  or  $4,000,000,000  in  American 
currency  ;  the  extraordinary  enterprise  of  the  island  empire  had 
carried  her  ships  to  all  seas,  and  made  her  the  commercial  emporium 
of  the  world.  Not  only  to  her  own  colonies,  but  to  all  lands,  sailed 
her  enormous  fleet  of  merchantmen,  gathering  the  products  of  the 
earth,  to  be  consumed  at  home  or  distributed  again  to  the  nations 
of  Europe  and  America.  She  had  assumed  the  position  of  the  pur- 
veyor and  carrier  for  mankind.  This  was  not  all.  Great  Britain 
was  in  a  large  measure  the  producer  for  mankind.  Manufacturing 
enterprise  and  industry  had  increased  immensely  on  her  soil,  and 
countless  factories,  forges,  and  other  workshops  turned  out  finished 
goods  with  a  speed  and  profusion  undreamed  of  before.  Machines 
for  spinning,  weaving,  iron-working,  and  a  thousand  other  processes 
were  in  use  on  all  parts  of  Britain's  soil,  and  by  their  aid  one  of  the 
greatest  steps  of  progress  in  the  whole  history  of  mankind  had 
taken  place — the  grand  nineteenth  century  revolution  in  production, 
which  was  matched  only  by  the  equally  grand  revolution  in  commer- 
cial distribution. 

INVENTIVE    PROGRESS    DURING    VICTORIA'S    REK1N 

To  glance  rapidly  at  some  of  the  steps  of  inventive  progress 
during  Victoria's  reign  we  may  quote  from  Sir  Edwin  Arnold. 
While  a  small  child,  he  was  taken  by  his  nurse  to  see  the  troops  in 
the  street  when  Victoria  was  proclaimed  Queen,  and  on  his  way 
home  he  saw  something  quite  new — a  man  selling  lucifer  matches 
in  the  street,  and  drawing  them  through  a  folded  piece  of  sand-paper 
to  show  how  they  would  burst  into  flame. 

"On  that  morning,"  says  Sir  Edwin,  "as  on  all  mornings  before, 
I  had,  probably,  on  awakening  from  sleep,  witnessed  my  nurse  kin- 
dling the  fire  or  lighting  the  dressing  candles  with  an  old-fashioned 
flint  and  steel,  laboriously  striking  the  wayward  sparks  into  a  smutty 
tinder,  and  then  applying  to  a  traveling  fringe  of  fire  the  point  of  a 
splinter  of  wood  dipped  into  brimstone,  bundles  of  which  used  to  be 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  AND  COMMERCIAL  DEVELOPMENT    437 

sold  by  beggars  in  the  highways.  So  did  we  procure  the  sacred 
element  when  this  reign  began  ;  little,  if  at  all,  advanced  beyond  the 
fire-stick  of  the  savage. 

"l;rom  that  trivial  Coronation  Day  match  the  thought  passes 
naturally  to  very  much  greater  things.  I  do  not  even  know  whether 
the  lucifer  can  be  set  down  as  a  British  discovery  ;  yet  of  what  won- 
derful new  times,  of  what  superb  mental  and  mechanical  expanskms, 
of  what  amazing  revelations  in  science  and  advances  in  arts,  trades, 
commerce,  geographical  research,  imperial  possessions,  uprises  in 
political  liberty,  education  and  daily  life  ;  of  what  stirring  events 
abroad,  what  augmentation  of  population  and  national  wealth  at 
home,  and  what  unforeseen  but  epoch-making  occurrences  generally, 
was  that  Coronation  match  to  become  the  humble  harbinger  !  One 
needs,  no  doubt,  to  strain  the  memory  in  order  to  force  it  back  into 
realizing  all  the  strange  backwardness  of  those  days.  Let  me,  never- 
theless, make  an  endeavor  towards  this  by  means  of  a  sharp  contrast 
or  two  of  facts  and  figures. 

"The  revenue  of  the  United  Kingdom — to-day  exceeding  one 
hundred  millions — stood  in  1837  at  forty-seven  millions  only.  There 
was  no  railway  open  between  Liverpool  and  Birmingham  in  that 
England  which  now  has  2 1 ,000  miles  of  iron  roads,  and  you  still  went 
down  to  the  Black  wall  Docks  in  carriages  drawn  by  a  rope.  Not  a 
single  electric  wire  spanned  the  air,  or  burrowed  through  the  earth, 
or  crept  under  the  sea.  Lord  Beaconsfield,  whose  '  Primrose  Day ' 
is  now  a  national,  festival,  had  not  made  his  maiden  speech.  The 
Sirins  and  the  Great  Western  steamers — earliest  of  their  kind — had 
yet  to  cross  the  Atlantic  ;  Grace  Darling  had  not,  by  her  sweet  story 
of  heroism,  started  our  noble  life-boat  system,  the  glory  of  British 
coasts  ;  India  was  still  reached  only  by  the  long  Cape  route,  for1 
Waghorn  did  not  ventilate  his  overland  scheme  in  the  Jerusalem 
Coffee  House  until  October  12,  1838. 

"We  had  practically  little  use  as  yet  of  railroads,  telegraph 
wires,  and  of  steam  navigation,  and  were  only  beginning  to  get  the 
new  machine  of  our  popular  representative  institutions  into  order  at 


438     THE  INDUSTRIAL  AND  COMMERCIAL  DEVELOPMENT 

the  time  when  those  Coronation  trumpets  sounded.  The  Reform 
Act  was  but  five  years  old  ;  the  criminal  law  was  still  fierce  and 
bloody  ;  the  wealth  of  even  such  a  family  as  Mr.  Gladstone's  had 
been  derived  without  public  scruples  from  the  labor  and  sale  of 
slaves  ;  when  softly  and  auspiciously — into  this  epoch,  the  descrip- 
tion of  which  must  smack  of  barbarism  to  the  young,  as  we  recall  it 
— entered  the  gracious  figure  of  the  girl  Queen,  bringing  in  her 
hand  the  magic  wand  of  virtue,  and,  as  we  see  to-day,  those  hidden 
national  benedictions  which  accompany  its  eternal  potency.  For, 
indeed,  our  Queen  has  borne  an  immense  personal  part  in  molding 
her  age,  if  that  age  has  also  reflected  back  upon  her  name  and  her 
greatness  a  luster  beyond  the  glory  of  all  other  reigns." 

A  quotation  from  the  same  writer,  in  reference  to  the  progress 
in  postal  facilities,  a  direct  outgrowth  of  the  developments  above 
described,  will  not  be  without  interest,  although  we  have  referred  to 
this  subject  elsewhere  : 

"  Rowland  Hill  published  his  pamphlet  on  '  Postal  Reform  '  in 
1837.  Thus  one  may  affirm  that  it  was  Queen  Victoria  who  brought 
the  penny  post  with  her.  In  1839  the  charge  for  letters  inside  Lon- 
don was  timidly  lowered  to  a  penny.  In  1840  this  boon  was  tenta- 
tively extended  to  the  United  Kingdom.  By  1884  the  penny  stamp, 
in  which  the  wiseacres  of  the  old  post  office  utterly  disbelieved,  had 
been  issued  to  the  amazing  total  of  thirty-one  billions,  three  hundred 
millions  !  The  number  of  letters  posted  yearly  at  the  date  of  her 
Majesty's  accession  was  80,000,000;  the  number  .to-day  is  rapidly 
approaching  two  thousand  millions  !  Imagine  what  this  signifies  in 
closer  and  more  constant  intercourse  of  home  with  home,  heart  with 
heart,  mind  with  mind,  locality  with  locality,  friend  with  friend,  parent 
with  child,  lover  with  sweetheart,  customer  with  dealer.  It  is  all  Vic- 
torian !  In  1836  a  letter  took  ten  hours  to  go  from  Charing  Cross 
to  Hampstead,  and  might  cost  one  shilling  and  eight  pence." 

One  further  result  of  the  immense  progress  in  industry  and 
commerce  made  by  Great  Britain  during  the  Victorian  era  may  be 
here  given.  While  the  producing  and  trading  classes  won  vast 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  AND  COMMERCIAL  DEVELOPMENT    439 

wealth,  the  working-classes  shared  the  advantages  of  the  new  con- 
ditions. During  the  reign  of  the  Queen  they  passed  from  a  posi- 
tion of  oppression  to  one  of  power.  From  being  the  victims  of  a 
system  of  crushing  taxation,  they  emerged  into  an  economic  system 
in  which  the  payment  of  taxes  was  largely  optional. 

It  was  estimated,  about  the  close  of  the  Napoleonic  wars,  that 
a  workman  paid  nearly  eleven  pounds  annually  out  of  his  small 
income  to  sustain  the  government  and  to  protect  the  home  indus- 
tries. In  the  case  of  poorly  paid  workmen,  such  as  the  handloom 
weaver,  this  absorbed  nearly  one-half  his  income.  Thirty  years 
later  Mr.  Cobden  estimated  that  of  every  pound  sterling  expended 
by  the  working-classes  on  the  great  staples  of  consumption,  from 
43.  to  1 6s.  went  to  the  government. 

In  the  succeeding  years  these  taxes  on  imported  goods — upon 
which  the  British  workingman  so  largely  depends — have  practically 
disappeared.  Only  two  articles  pay  heavily,  spirits  and  tobacco,  and 
it  is  at  the  option  of  the  artisan  whether  or  not  he  consumes  and 
pays  taxes  on  these  detrimental  luxuries.  The  only  excise  tax 
remaining  on  necessary  articles  of  consumption  is  that  on  tea,  and 
this  averages  less  than  three  shillings  annually  for  each  of  the  popu- 
lation. So,  for  the  very  moderate  exaction  of  less  than  one  penny 
per  week,  any  British  workingman  who  chooses  may  enjoy  the 
advantages  of  citizenship.  This  is  certainly  a  vast  advance  from 
his  condition  when  Victoria  came  to  the  throne,  and  when  nearly 
one-half  of  his  very  moderate  wages  went  to  the  government. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

Livingstone  and  Stanley,  the  Famous 
Travelers 

WHEN  Queen  Victoria  came  to  the  throne,  comparatively 
little  was  known  of  the  surface  of  the  earth,  compared 
with  what  had  been  learned  at  the  end  of  her  reign. 
Two  of  the  great  colonial  provinces  of  her  wide-spread  Kingdom, 
Canada  and  Australia,  were  settled  only  in  their  border-lands,  and 
their  vast  interiors  remained  to  be  explored.  And  the  great  conti- 
nent of  Africa,  over  so  much  of  which  now  floats  England's  flag, 
was  then  through  nearly  all  its  mighty  extent  a  land  unknown. 
The  discovery  of  the  world  has  been  in  great  part  made  during 
Victoria's  reign,  and  very  largely  by  subjects  of  her  throne.  And 
among"  the  travelers  of  British  birth  who  have  done  so  much  to 

o 

make  her  reign  glorious,  two  especially  may  be  named,  the  most 
famous  explorers  of  the  nineteenth  century,  David  Livingstone  and 
Henry  M.  Stanley,  around  whose  careers  the  whole  story  of  African 
exploration  revolves. 

GOOD    WORK    AND    UNFLAGGING    ENTERPRISE 

It  was  in  1840,  three  years  after  Victoria  became  Queen,  that 
David  Livingstone,  a  man  of  Scotch  birth,  born  to  good  work  and 
unflagging  enterprise,  left  England  to  devote  his  life  to  missionary 
labor  in  Africa.  Landing  at  Port  Natal,  he  became  associated  with 

o 

the  noted  missionary,  Rev.  Robert  Moffat — whose  daughter  he 
afterwards  married — and  for  years  he  labored  earnestly  among 
the  pagan  natives,  studying  their  languages,  habits,  and  religious 
beliefs,  and  becoming  one  of  the  most  devoted  and  successful  of 
their  moral  teachers. 
440 


LIVINGSTONE  AND  STANLEY  441 

His  experience  in  missionary  work  convinced  him  that  success 
in  this  field  of  duty  was  not  to  be  measured  by  the  tale  of  con- 
versions— of  doubtful  character — which  could  be  sent  home  every 
year,  but  that  the  proper  work  for  the  enterprising  white  man  was 
that  of  pioneer  research.  He  could  best  employ  himself  in  opening  up 
and  exploring  new  fields  of  labor,  and  might  safely  leave  to  native 
agents  the  duty  of  working  these  out  in  detail. 

This  theory  he  first  put  into  effect  in  1849,  in  which  year  he  set 
out  on  a  journey  to  the  unknown  land  to  the  north,  the  goal  of 
his  enterprise  being  Lake  Ngami,  on  which  no  white  man's  eyes 
had  ever  fallen.  In  company  with  two  English  sportsmen,  Mr. 
Oswell  and  Mr.  Murray,  he  traversed  the  great  and  bleak  Kalahari 
Desert, — which  he  was  the  first  to  describe  in  detail, — and  on  the  ist 
of  August  the  travelers  were  gladdened  by  the  sight  of  the  previ- 
ously unknown  liquid  plain,  the  most  southerly  of  the  great  African 
lakes. 

A    BOLD    AND    UNDAUNTED    EXPLORER 

Two  hundred  miles  beyond  this  body  of  water  lived  a  noted 
chief  named  Sebituane,  the  chief  of  the  Makololo  tribe,  whose  resi- 
dence Livingstone  sought  to  reach  the  following  year,  bringing  with 
him  on  this  journey  his  wife  and  children.  But  fever  seized  the 
children  and  he  was  obliged  to  stop  at  the  shores  of  the  lake. 
Nothing  daunted  by  this  failure,  he  set  out  again  in  1851,  once 
more  accompanied  by  his  family,  and  with  his  former  companion, 
Mr.  Oswell,  his  purpose  being  to  settle  among  the  Makololos  and 
seek  to  convert  to  Christianity  their  great  chief.  He  succeeded  in 
reaching  the  tribe,  but  the  death  of  Sebituane,  shortly  after  his 
arrival,  disarranged  his  plans,  and  he  was  obliged  to  return.  But 
before  doing  so  he  and  Mr.  Oswell  made  an  exploration  of  several 
hundred  miles  to  the  northeast,  their  journey  ending  at  the  Zambesi, 
the  great  river  of  South  Africa,  which  he  here  found  flowing  in  a 
broad  and  noble  current  through  the  centre  of  the  continent. 

The  subsequent  travels  of  Livingstone  were  performed  more 
for  purposes  of  exploration  than  for  religious  labors,  though  to  the 


442  LIVINGSTONE  AND  STANLEY 

end  he  considered  himself  a  missionary  pioneer.  Sending  his 
family  to  England,  he  left  Capetown  in  June,  1852,  reached  the 
country  of  the  Makololos  in  May,  1853,  and  from  there  started  up 
the  Zambesi  on  a  long  and  dangerous  journey  through  unknown 
lands,  which  ended  a  year  later  at  the  Portuguese  town  of  St.  Paul 
de  Loanda,  on  the  Atlantic  coast.  Livingstone  was  half  worn  out 
by  fever,  dysentery,  and  semi-starvation  ;  but  he  had  a  greater  fever 
within  him  than  that  of  the  body, — the  mental  fever  for  explora- 
tion,— and  back  again  into  the  centre  of  the  land  he  plunged,  not 
resting  until,  two  years  later,  he  reached  a  Portuguese  town  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Zambesi,  on  the  Pacific  coast.  For  the  first  time  in 
history  a  white  man  had  crossed  the  great  African  continent. 

THE    GREAT    FALLS    OF    ZAMBESI 

The  most  interesting  discovery  made  in  this  remarkable  jour- 
ney was  that  of  the  great  falls  of  the  Zambesi,  a  cataract  without 
a  rival  for  grandeur  upon  the  earth,  except  the  still  mightier  one  of 
the  Niagara.  An  immense  cliff  or  fissure  in  the  earth  cuts  directly 
across  the  channel  of  the  river,  whose  waters  pour  headlong  down- 
ward in  an  enormous  flood  into  the  cavernous  abyss,  whence  "the 
smoke  of  its  torrent  ascendeth  forever."  There  seems  here  to 
have  been  at  one  time  a  vast  lake,  walled  in  by  a  ring  of  moun- 
tains, which  was  drained  when  some  great  convulsion  of  nature 
split  the  earth  asunder  across  its  bed.  Livingstone  testified  his 
loyalty  to  the  gracious  lady  who  filled  England's  throne  by  giving 
her  name  to  this  grand  wonder  of  nature,  which  since  that  time  has 
been  known  as  the  Victoria  Falls. 

Livingstone  returned  to  England  in  the  latter  part  of  1855, 
and  was  received  with  the  highest  enthusiasm,  being  welcomed  as 
the  first  to  break  through  that  pall  of  darkness  which  had  so  long 
enveloped  the  interior  of  Africa.  The  Royal  Geographical  Society 
had  already  conferred  upon  him  its  highest  token  of  honor,  its  gold 
medal,  and  now  honors  and  compliments  were  showered  upon  him 
until  the  modest  traveler  was  overwhelmed  with  the  warmth  of  his 


QUEEN  VICTORIA  AND  THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES 
Now  Edward  Vll 


THEIR  QUEEN  AND  EMPRESS 

.  »  T^natch  describing  the  elation  of  the  troops  at  the  services  they  hao 


LIVINGSTONE  AND  STANLEY  445 

reception.  Not  least  among  those  who  were  deeply  interested  in 
his  work  was  the  royal  lady  whose  name  he  had  given  to  his  greatest 
discovery. 

The  desire  to  complete  his  work  was  strong  upon  him,  and 
after  publishing  an  account  of  his  travels,  in  a  work  of  modest  sim- 
plicity, he  returned  to  Africa,  reaching  the  mouth  of  the  Zambesi' 
in  May,  1858.  In  1859,  his  new  career  of  discovery  began  in  an 
exploration  of  the  Shire,  a  northern  affluent  of  the  Zambesi,  up 
which  he  journeyed  to  the  great  Lake  Nyassa,  another  capital  dis- 
covery. For  several  years  he  was  engaged  in  exploring  the  sur- 
rounding region  and  furthering  the  interests  of  missionary  enter- 
prise among  the  natives.  In  one  of  his  journeys  his  wife,  who  was 
his  companion  during  this  period  of  his  travels  died,  and  in  1864 
he  returned  home,  worn  out  with  his  extraordinary  labors  in  new 
lands  and  desiring  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  quiet  and 
repose. 

But  at  the  suggestion  of  Murchison,  the  famous  geologist  and 
his  staunch  friend,  he  was  induced  to  return  to  Africa,  one  of  his 
main  purposes  being  to  take  steps  looking  to  the  suppression  of 
the  Arab  slave-trade,  whose  horrors  had  long  excited  his  deepest 
sympathies.  Landing  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rovuma  River — a 
stream  he  had  previously  explored — March  22,  1866,  he  started  for 
the  interior,  rounded  Lake  Nyassa  on  the  south,  and  set  off  to  the 
northeast  for  the  great  Lake  Tanganyika — which  had  meanwhile 
been  discovered  by  Barton  and  Speke,  in  1857. 

In  this  exploration  Livingstone  vanished  from  sight  and  knowl- 
edge, and  for  five  years  was  utterly  lost  in  the  deep  interior  of  the 
continent.  From  time  to  time  vague  intimations  of  his  movements 

o 

reached  the  world  of  civilization,  but  the  question  of  his  fate 
became  so  exciting  a  one  that  in  1871  Henry  M.  Stanley  was 
dispatched,  at  the  expense  of  the  proprietor  of  the  New  York 
Herald,  to  penetrate  the  continent  and  seek  to  discover  the  long- 
lost  traveler.  Stanley  found  him  at  Ujiji,  on  the  northeast  shore 
of  Tanganyika,  on  October  18,  1871,  the  great  explorer  being 


446  LIVINGSTONE  AND  STANLEY 

then,  in  his  words,  "a  ruckle  of  bones."  Far  and  wide  he  had 
traveled  through  Central  Africa,  discovering  a  host  of  lakes  and 
streams,  finding  many  new  tribes  with  strange  habits.  Among  his 
notable  discoveries  was  that  of  the  Lualaba  River — The  Upper 
Congo — which  he  believed  to  be  the  headwaters  of  the  Nile.  His 
work  had  been  enormous,  and  the  "  Dark  Continent  "  had  yielded 
to  him  a  host  of  its  long-hidden  mysteries.  Not  willing  yet  to  give 
up  his  work,  he  waited  at  Ujiji  for  men  and  supplies  sent  him  by 
Stanley  from  the  coast,  and  then  started  south  for  Lake  Bangweolo, 
one  of  his  former  discoveries.  But  attacked  again  by  his  old  enemy, 
dysentery,  the  iron  frame  of  the  great  traveler  at  length  yielded, 
and  he  was  found,  on  May  i,  1873,  by  his  men,  dead  in  his  tent, 
kneeling  by  the  side  of  his  bed.  Thus  perished  in  prayer  the 
greatest  traveler  in  modern  times. 

For  more  than  thirty  years  Livingstone  had  dwelt  in  Africa, 
most  of  that  time  engaged  in  exploring  new  regions  and  visiting  new 
peoples.  His  travels  had  covered  a  third  of  the  continent,  extend- 
ing from  the  Cape  to  near  the  equator,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Indian  Ocean,  his  work  being  all  done  leisurely  and  carefully, 
so  that  its  results  were  of  the  utmost  value  to  geographical  science. 
He  had  also  aroused  a  sentiment  against  the  Arab  slave-trade  which 
was  to  give  that  frightful  system  its  death  blow. 

HENRY    M.    STANLEY    GOES    TO    AFRICA 

The  work  of  Livingstone  stirred  up  an  enthusiasm  for  African 
travel,  and  many  adventurous  explorers  set  out  for  that  continent 
during  his  career,  the  greatest  of  whom  was  Henry  M.  Stanley, 
a  man  of  English  birth,  though  long  a  resident  of  the  United 
States. 

While  in  Spain,  in  1869,  as  a  reporter  of  the  New  York 
Herald,  James  Gordon  Bennett  sent  him  the  brief  order  to  "  find 
Livingstone  "  This  was  enough  for  Stanley,  who  proceeded  at 
once  to  Zanzibar,  organized  an  expedition,  and  did  "find  Living- 
stone," as  above  stated. 


LIVINGSTONE  AND  STANLEY  447 

Next,  filled  with  the  spirit  of  travel,  Stanley  set  out  to  "  find 
Africa,"  now  as  joint  agent  for  the  Herald  and  the  London  Daily 
Telegraph.  Setting  out  from  Zanzibar  in  November,  1874,  he  pro- 
ceeded, with  a  large  expedition,  to  the  Victoria  Nyanza,  which  he  cir- 
cumnavigated ;  and  then  journeyed  to  Tanganyika,  whose  shape  and 
dimensions  he  similarly  ascertained.  From  these  he  proceeded  west- 
ward to  the  Lualaba,  the  stream  which  Livingstone  had  supposed 
to  be  the  Nile.  How  Stanley  made  his  way  down  this  great  stream, 
overcoming  enormous  difficulties  and  fighting  his  way  through 
hostile  tribes,  is  too  long  a  story  to  be  told  here.  It  must  suffice 
to  say  that  he  soon  found  that  he  was  not  upon  the  Nile,  but  upon 
a  westward-flowing  stream,  which  he  eventually  identified  as  the 
Congo — a  great  river  whose  lower  course  only  had  been  previously 
known.  For  ten  months  the  daring  traveler  pursued  his  journey 
down  this  stream,  assailed  by  treachery  and  hostility,  and  finally 
reached  the  ocean,  having  traversed  the  heart  of  that  vast  "  unex- 
plored territory "  which  long  occupied  so  wide  a  space  on  all 
maps  of  Africa.  He  had  learned  that  the  interior  of  the  continent 
is  a  mighty  plateau,  watered  by  the  Congo  and  its  many  large 
affluents  and  traversed  in  all  directions  by  navigable  waters.  Politi- 
cally this  remarkable  journey  led  to  the  founding  of  the  Congo 
Free  State  which  embraces  the  central  region  of  tropical  Africa, 
and  which  Stanley  was  sent  to  establish  in  1879. 

In  1887  he  set  out  on  another  great  journey.  The  conquest 
of  the  Egyptian  Soudan  by  the  Mahdi  had  not  only  greatly 
diminished  the  territory  of  Egypt,  but  had  cut  off  Emin  Pasha 
(Dr.  Edward  Schnitzler),  governor  of  the  Equatorial  Province  of 
Egypt,  leaving  him  stranded  on  the  Upper  Nile,  near  the  Albert 
Nyanza.  Here  Emin  maintained  himself  for  years,  holding  his  own 
against  his  foes,  and  actively  engaging  in  natural  history  study. 
But,  cut  off  as  he  was  from  civilization,  threatened  by  the  Mahdi, 
and  his  fate  unknown  in  Europe,  a  growing  anxiety  concerning  him 
prevailed,  and  Stanley  was  sent  to  find  him,  as  he  had  before  found 
Livingstone. 


448  LIVINGSTONE  AND  STANLEY 

Organizing  a  strong  expedition  at  Zanzibar,  the  traveler  sailed 
with  his  officers,  soldiers  and  negro  porters  for  the  mouth  of  the 
Congo,  which  river  he  proposed  to  make  the  channel  of  his  explora- 
tion. Setting  out  from  this  point  on  March  18,  1887,  by  June  i5th 
the  expedition  had  reached  the  village  of  Yambuya,  1,300  miles  up 
the  stream.  Thus  far  he  had  traversed  waters  well  known  to  him. 
From  this  point  he  proposed  to  plunge  into  the  unknown,  follow- 
ing the  course  of  the  Aruwimi,  a  large  affluent  of  the  Congo  which 
flowed  from  the  direction  of  the  great  Nyanza  lake-basins. 

THE    DIFFICULTIES    BEFORE    THE    TRAVELER 

It  was  a  terrible  journey  which  the  expedition  now  made.  Be- 
fore it  spread  a  forest  of  seemingly  interminable  extent,  peopled 
mainly  by  the  curious  dwarfs  who  form  the  forest-folk  of  Central 
Africa.  The  difficulties  before  the  traveler  were  enormous,  but  no 
hardship  or  danger  could  daunt  his  indomitable  courage,  and  he 
kept  resolutely  on  until  he  met  the  lost  Emin  on  the  shores  of 
Albert  Nyanza,  as  he  had  formerly  met  Livingstone  on  those  of 
Lake  Tanganyika. 

Three  times  in  effect  Stanley  crossed  that  terrible  forest,  since 
he  returned  to  Yambuya  for  the  men  and  supplies  he  had  left 
there  and  journeyed  back  again.  Finally  he  made  an  overland 
journey  to  Zanzibar,  on  the  east  coast,  with  Emin  and  his  followers, 
who  had  been  rescued  just  in  time  to  save  them  from  imminent 
peril  of  overthrow  and  slaughter  by  the  fanatical  hordes  of  the 
Mahdi.  This  second  crossing  of  the  continent  by  Stanley  ended 
December  4,  1889,  having  continued  little  short  of  three  years. 
The  discoveries  made  were  great  and  valuable,  and  on  his  return 
to  Europe  the  explorer  met  with  a  reception  almost  royal  in  its 
splendor.  Among  the  large  number  of  travelers  who  during  the 
latter  half  of  the  century  have  contributed  to  make  the  interior  of 
Africa  as  familiar  to  us  as  that  of  portions  of  our  own  continent, 
Livingstone  and  Stanley  stand  pre-eminent,  the  most  heroic  figures 
in  modern  travel :  Livingstone  as  the  missionary  explorer,  who 


LIVINGSTONE  AND  STANLEY  449 

won  the  love  of  the  savage  tribes  and  made  his  way  by  the  arts  of 
peace  and  gentleness  ;  Stanley  as  the  soldierly  explorer,  who  fought 
his  way  through  cannibal  hordes,  his  arts  being  those  of  force  and 
daring.  They  and  their  successors  have  performed  one  of  the 
greatest  works  of  the  nineteenth  century,  that  of  lifting  the  cloud 
which  for  so  many  centuries  lay  thick  and  dense  over  the  whole 
extent  of  interior  Africa. 

This  does  not  complete  the  story  of  the  exploration  of  Africa 
by  daring  British  travelers  during  Queen  Victoria's  reign.  While 
the  two  great  men  named  were  at  work,  Burton  and  Speke  in  1857 
discovered  a  great  lake,  also  named,  after  their  Queen,  the  Victoria 
Nyanza ;  and  Baker  in  1864  reached  another  large  lake  west  of  the 
Victoria,  which  he,  with  equal  loyalty  to  the  Queen,  named,  after 
the  Prince  Consort,  the  Albert  Nyanza.  In  i874~'75  Lieutenant 
Cameron  repeated  Livingstone's  feat  of  crossing  the  African  con- 
tinent from  sea  to  sea.  Since  that  period  Africa  has  been  traversed 
from  north  and  south,  east  and  west,  by  adventurous  travelers,  till 
little  of  its  soil  remains  unknown — and  this  largely  by  explorers 
of  British  birth. 

THE    COLONIAL    EXPANSION    OF    GREAT    BRITAIN 

We  might  extend  this  story  of  travel  to  other  lands,  and 
especially  to  show  how  bold  adventurers  penetrated  into  the  deserts 
of  interior  Australia,  daring  death  by  thirst  and  starvation,  until 
that  great  island  became  very  well  known.  But  it  seems  better,  in 
the  concluding  section  of  this  chapter,  to  refer  briefly  to  the  out- 
come of  the  discoveries  named,  the  vast  extension  of  the  colonial 
empire  of  England.  This  has  already  been  referred  to  in  our  open 
ing  chapter,  but  to  speak  of  it  again  will  not  be  out  of  place. 

The  colonial  expansion  of  Great  Britain  since  Victoria  came 
to  the  throne  has  been  enormous.  Canada  and  Australia  were  held 
before  that  period,  but  their  development  since  1837  has  been  very 
great.  This  is  especially  the  case  with  Australia,  which  was  then 
simply  a  convict  settlement,  and  whose  great  progress  did  not  begin 

'5 


450  LIVINGSTONE  AND  STANLEY 

until  after  the  discovery  of  gold  in  1851.  The  incitement  of  the 
yellow  metal  drew  the  enterprising  "thither  by  thousands,  until  the 
population  of  the  colony  is  now  more  than  3,000,000,  and  is  grow- 
ing at  a  rapid  rate,  it  having  developed  other  valuable  resources 
besides  that  of  gold.  Of  its  cities,  Melbourne,  the  capital  of  Vic- 
toria, has  nearly  500,000  population;  Sidney,  the  capital  of  New 
South  Wales,  303,000,  while  there  are  other  cities  of  rapid  growth. 
Australia  is  the  one  important  British  colony  obtained  without  a 
war.  In  its  human  beings,  as  in  its  animals  generally,  it  stood  at 
a  low  level  of  development  and  it  was  taken  possession  of  without 
a  protest  from  the  savage  inhabitants. 

The  same  cannot  be  said  of  the  inhabitants  of  New  Zealand, 
an  important  group  of  islands  lying  east  of  Australia,  which  was 
acquired  by  Great  Britain  as  a  colony  in  1840  The  Maoris,  as  the 
people  of  these  islands  call  themselves,  are  of  the  bold  and  sturdy 
Polynesian  race,  a  brave,  generous,  and  warlike  people,  who  gave 
their  new  lords  and  masters  no  end  of  trouble.  A  series  of  wars 
with  the  natives  began  in  1843  an<^  continued  until  1869,  since 
which  time  the  colony  has  enjoyed  peace.  At  present  this  colony 
is  one  of  the  most  advanced  politically  of  any  region  on  the  face 
of  the  earth,  so  far  as  attention  to  the  interests  of  the  masses  of 
the  people  is  concerned,  and  its  laws  and  regulations  offer  a  useful 
object  lesson  to  the  remainder  of  the  world. 

So  great  has  been  the  progress  of  Australia  that,  on  the  first 
day  of  the  twentieth  century,  its  several  colonies  united  into  "  The 
Commonwealth  of  Australia,"  forming  a  federal  union  similar  to 
the  "  Dominion  of  Canada,"  of  earlier  origin.  This  new  Common- 
wealth embraces  six  States,  five  of  them — New  South  Wales,  Vic- 
toria, South  Australia,  Queensland  and  Western  Australia — occupy- 
ing the  island  continent,  while  the  sixth  is  the  island  of  Tasmania, 
which  lies  some  short  distance  to  the  south.  As  the  island  of  New- 
foundland lies  outside  the  Canadian  "  Dominion,"  so  the  New  Zea- 
land group  forms  no  part  of  the  Australian  "Commonwealth."  This 
new  federation  in  the  southern  seas  is  bound  to  the  Mother-country 


LIVINGSTONE  AND  STANLEY  451 

rather  by  the  ties  of  loyalty  than  by  political  bonds.  The  Governor- 
General,  appointed  by  the  British  sovereign,  has  little  more  than 
advisory  authority,  being  controlled  in  his  actions  by  a  Ministry 
chosen  like  that  of  England,  and  taking  no  more  active  part  in  the 
work  of  administration  than  did  Queen  Victoria  in  that  of  the 
home  government.  Politically,  therefore,  the  new  Commonwealth 
is  virtually  independent. 

Returning  now  to  Africa,  we  may  say  that  the  work  of 
discovery  has  been  followed  by  a  very  active  period  of  annexation, 
nearly  the  whole  continent  being  divided  up  between  various 
European  nations  within  the  last  two  decades  of  Victoria's  reign. 
In  this  work  Great  Britain  was,  as  usual,  the  most  energetic  and 
successful,  possessing  a  position  of  advantage  from  her  earlier 
colonial  holdings  on  African  soil. 

To-day  the  possessions  and  protectorates  of  this  active  king- 
dom in  Africa  embrace  2,587,755  square  miles  ;  or,  if  we  add  Egypt 
and  the  Egyptian  Soudan — practically  British  territory — the  area 
occupied  or  claimed  amounts  to  2,987,755  square  miles.  France 
comes  next,  with  claims  covering  1,232,454  square  miles.  Germany 
lays  claim  to  920,920;  Italy,  to  278,500;  Portugal,  to  735,304; 
Spain,  to  243,877  ;  the  Congo  Free  State,  to  900,000  ;  and  Turkey 
(if  Egypt  be  included),  to  798,738  square  miles.  The  parts  of 
Africa  unoccupied  or  unclaimed  by  Europeans  are  a  portion  of  the 
Desert  of  Sahara,  which  no  one  wants  ;  Abyssinia,  still  independent 
though  in  danger  of  absorption ;  and  Liberia,  a  State  over  which 
rests  the  shadow  of  protection  of  the  United  States. 

Of  the  British  colonial  possessions  in  Africa,  that  in  the  south 
extends  from  Cape  Town  to  Lake  Tanganyika,  and  forms  an 
immense  area,  replete  with  natural  resources,  and  capable  of 
sustaining  a  very  large  future  population.  On  the  east  coast  is 
another  large  acquisition,  British  East  Africa,  extending  north  to 
Abyssinia  and  the  Soudan  and  west  to  the  Congo  Free  State,  and 
including  part  of  the  great  Victoria  Nyanza.  Further  north  a  large 
slice  has  been  carved  out  of  Somaliland,  facing  on  the  Gulf  of 


452  LIVINGSTONE  AND  STANLEY 

Aden.  In  addition,  there  is  the  colony  of  Sierra  Leone,  the 
Ashantee  country,  and  an  extensive  region  facing  on  the  Gulf  of 
Guinea,  and  extending  far  back  into  the  Soudan. 

AFRICA    DURING    VICTORIA'S    REIGN 

So  immense  are  these  British  holdings  in  Africa,  nearly  all 
acquired  during  Victoria's  reign,  that  a  railroad  traversing  the  whole 
length  of  the  continent,  from  Cairo  to  Capetown,  is  projected  and 
partly  laid,  nearly  the  whole  of  which  will  run  through  regions 
dominated  by  Great  Britain.  In  this  colonial  dominion  in  Africa 
the  Anglo-Saxon  has  found  only  one  serious  check  in  his  march  to 
empire,  that  of  the  district  held  by  the  Boers — descendants  of  old 
Dutch  and  French  settlers  on  South  African  soil.  Holding,  as 
they  do,  the  section  richest  in  mineral  wealth  of  the  whole  conti- 
nent, the  famous  Witwatersrand  gold  ledges,  the  British  Govern- 
ment has  felt  a  burning  anxiety  to  round  up  its  South  Africa  pos- 
sessions by  the  annexation  of  this  little  foreign  "  lodge  in  the 
wilderness."  The  result  of  this  costly  effort  at  annexation,  and  its 
seemingly  fatal  effect  upon  the  Queen — against  whose  earnest  wish 
the  war  is  thought  to  have  been  entered  upon — we  have  already 
told.  We  need  say  here  no  more  than  that  the  Boer  war  has 
proved  the  most  serious  check  met  by  Great  Britain  in  her  plan  of 
empire,  with  the  exception  of  that  met  in  the  preceding  century,  in 
her  effort  to  subdue  the  American  colonies.  But  from  the  sin  of 
this  war — if  sin  it  be — Queen  Victoria's  hands  and  soul  were  free. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

The  Progress  of  Science  in  Victorian  Era 

AMONG  the  many  elements  of  progress  during  the  fertile  Vic- 
torian  Era  may  be  specially  mentioned  the  advancement  of 
science  ;  and  of  the  men  of  science  whose  careers  particularly 
distinguished  the  reign  of  the  Queen,  the  name  of  one  stands  pre- 
eminent, that  of  Charles  Darwin,  the  originator  of   the  world-wide 
famous  theory  of  the  Origin  of  Species  by  Natural  Selection.      In 
giving  a  review,  therefore,  of  Victorian  science  we  are  irresistibly 
drawn  to  the  life  and  work  of  this  remarkable  man,  who  ranks  in 
the  history  of  science  with  Aristotle,  Galileo,  Newton,  Kepler,  and 
the  few  other  stars  of  first  magnitude  in  the  scientific  galaxy 

CHARLES    DARWIN    THE    SCIENTIST 

Charles  Darwin  came  from  good  old  English  stock.  Born 
February  12,  1809,  at  Shrewsbury  in  Middle  England,  he  was  a 
grandson  of  Dr.  Erasmus  Darwin,  one  of  the  fathers  of  evolution, 
his  views  upon  which  were  embodied  in  several  works,  one  of  them, 
a  poem,  "The  Botanic  Garden."  The  ardent  young  scientist  had 
an  early  and  great  opportunity  of  studying  the  living  forms  of  the 
earth.  He  left  College  to  embark  upon  the  Beagle,  a  ship  of  the 
Royal  Navy,  which  was  about  to  sail  on  a  scientific  expedition 
around  the  earth.  In  this  ship  he  visited  and  explored  many  of  the 
coast  regions  of  South  America  and  numerous  islands  of  the  Atlan- 
tic and  Pacific  oceans,  gaining  a  vast  amount  of  fresh  and  valuable 
information.  His  adventures  and  observations  are  embodied  in  a 
work  of  surpassing  interest,  his  "  Journal  of  Researches  into  the 
Geology  and  Natural  History  of  the  Various  Countries  visited  by 
His  Majesty's  ship  Beagle"  whose  multitude  of  various  details  anc} 

453 


454  PROGRESS  Of  SCIENCE 

its  simple  and  lively  style  of  narrative  give  it  all  the  attractiveness 
of  a  romance. 

Once  more  on  his  native  soil  he  found  honors  awaiting  him. 
In  1838  he  was  made  Secretary  of  the  Geological  Society,  in  1859 
Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society,  while  Sir  Charles  Lyell  and  other  dis- 
tinguished scientists  gave  him  their  intimate  friendship.  In  the 
latter  year  he  married  his  cousin,  Miss  Wedgwood.  His  delight- 
fully chatty  "Journal"  was  followed  by  the  weightier  "Zoology  of 
the  Voyage  of  the  Beagle"  a  great  work,  which  occupied,  the  suc- 
ceeding four  years  of  his  life,  and  was  published  by  the  British 
Government.  In  1842  appeared  his  notable  theory  of  coral  forma- 
tion, under  the  title  of  "  The  Structure  and  Distribution  of  Coral 
Reefs;"  in  1844,  "Geological  Observations  on  Volcanic  Islands;" 
in  1846,  "  Geological  Observations  on  South  America,"  and  in  1853 
a  valuable  treatise  on  the  barnacles,  entitled  "  A  Monograph  of  the 
Cirripedia."  These  various  works  placed  him  in  the  front  rank  of 
the  scientific  thinkers  of  his  day. 

RESULTS    OF    HIS    STUDY 

Such  were  the  results,  as  given  to  the  world  of  the  observa- 
tion 'of  nature  through  distant  regions  of  the  earth  by  one  of  the 
keenest  of  modern  observers  and  ablest  of  modern  thinkers.  They 
were  followed  by  a  second  series  of  observations,  made  within  the 
narrow  limits  of  an  English  country-seat,  as  extended  in  scope  and 
as  prolific  in  results  as  those  which  had  half  the  surface  of  the  earth 
for  their  stage.  Settling  down,  three  years  after  his  marriage,  at 
Down,  near  Beckenham,  a.  Kentish  town  seven  miles  south  of  Lon- 
don, he  spent  there  the  remainder  of  his  life  as  a  country  gentle- 
man, occupying  his  time,  so  far  as  persistent  ill-health  would  permit, 
with  his  conservatories,  his  garden,  his  pigeons,  and  his  fowls.  He 
was  fortunate  in  the  possession  of  private  means  that  enabled  him 
to  devote  his  life  to  the  study  of  science,  and  especially  to  those 
observations  on  variation  and  interbreeding  in  his  birds  and  plants, 
of  which  he  made  such  notable  use  in  his  later  lifework. 


PROGRESS  OF  SCIENCE  455 

Darwin  had  become  engaged  with  the  problem  of  the  origin 
of  species  before  this.  His  work  on  the  Beagle  had  led  his 
thoughts  in  this  direction,  and  in  1837  he  began  diligently  to  col- 
lect facts  and  note  down  observations  tending  towards  the  solution 

o 

of  this  puzzling  problem.  Five  years  were  thus  spent  before  he 
"allowed  himself  to  speculate"  on  the  subject,  the  notes  then 
jotted  down  forming  the  germ  of  his  celebrated  later  theory.  But 
he  was  too  cautious  and  painstaking  to  rush  hastily  into  print, 
and  for  years  afterwards  he  continued  to  gather  corroborative 
facts.  How  many  years  more  his  constitutional  caution  would 
have  kept  him  silent  it  is  impossible  to  say,  for  an  incident  oc- 
curred that  precipitated  his  theory  upon  the  world — to  save  him- 
self from  being  deprived  of  the  fruit  of  his  long  years  of  labor  by 
another. 

'THE  ELEMENTS  OF  A  ROMANCE 

This  incident  had  in  it  the  elements  of  a  romance.  While 
Darwin  was  engaged  among  his  pigeons  and  plants  at  Down, 
Alfred  Russell  Wallace,  a  scientific  thinker  of  the  highest  ability, 
was  spending  years  of  travel  in  the  Malay  Archipelago,  one  of  the 
richest  tropical  centres  of  animated  nature  upon  the  earth.  In 
1858  he  sent  home  a  memoir  which  was  addressed  to  Darwin 
himself,  asking  him,  as  a  friend,  to  present  it  to  the  Linna^an 
Society.  On  opening  and  reading  it,  Darwin  found,  much  to  his 
surprise,  and  doubtless  somewhat  to  his  consternation,  that  it 
embraced  the  main  idea  of  his  own  theory  of  natural  selection. 
He  spoke  of  this  strange  circumstance  to  his  friends,  Sir  Charles 
Lyell  and  Sir  Joseph  Hooker,  and  was  persuaded  by  them  to  draw 
up  a  statement  of  his  own  views  and  read  it  before  the  Linnaean 
Society  at  the  same  meeting  at  which  Wallace's  paper  would  be 
read,  July  i,  1858.  This  he  did  ;  and  thus  the  greatest  theory  of 
the  nineteenth  century  was  presented  to  the  world  simultaneously 
by  two  minds,  though  strangely  through  one  hand. 

Stirred  to  work  by  this  disturbing  fact,  Darwin  at  once  began 
the  labor  of  condensing  and  arranging  his  vast  mass  of  notes,  and 


456  PROGRESS  OF  SCIENCE 

in  November,  1859,  appeared  the  greatest  work  of  his  life,  and  the 
most  influential  work  of  the  century,  "The  Origin  of  Species  by 
Means  of  Natural  Selection."  It  was  an  epoch-making  book. 
Europe  and  America  alike  received  it  with  the  deepest  interest ; 
every  one  talked  of  it,  with  enthusiastic  acceptance  or  bitter 
rejection  ;  it  was  violently  assailed  and  earnestly  defended  ;  for  the 
time  being  it  divided  the  scientists  and  thinkers  of  the  world  into 
two  camps,  the  Darwinists  and  the  Anti-Darwinists,  between  which 
rained  a  furious  bombardment  of  polemical  books.  We  need 
scarcely  say  here  that  the  battle  was  won  by  the  Darwinists,  and 
that  before  the  end  of  the  century  the  contest  was  at  an  end  and 
the  Darwinian  theory  almost  universally  accepted. 

The  remainder  of  Darwin's  life-story  maybe  briefly  told.  His 
notes  had  been  far  from  exhausted,  new  observations  were  uncease- 
ingly  made,  and  from  time  to  time  there  appeared  supplementary 
volumes  from  his  pen,  all  bearing  upon  and  going  to  strengthen 
the  argument  of  his  famous  "  Origin  of  Species."  Of  these  we 
will  name  but  one,  "  The  Descent  of  Man,"  published  in  1871,  and 
for  a  time  stirring  up  again  the  controversy  which  had  in  great  part 
subsided.  This  work  took  up  a  subject  which  he  had  avoided  in 
1859,  and  carried  his  theory  to  its  legitimate  conclusion,  to  wit  : 
that  man  is  no  more  a  product  of  special  creation  than  any  other 
animal,  but  is  a  direct  offspring  of  the  lower  animal  creation,  his 
immediate  ancestor  having  been  an  animal  belonging  to  the  anth- 
ropoid group,  the  highest  forms  of  the  ape  family,  and  a  more  or 
less  distant  relative  of  the  existing  anthropoids,  the  orang-outang, 
gorilla  and  chimpanzee. 

This  and  later  works  brought  Darwin  to  the  end  of  his  career. 
Long  in  a  very  feeble  state  of  health,  and  the  victim  of  distressing 
ailments,  he  had  worked  for  years  under  the  severest  disadvantages, 
and  at  length  succumbed  on  April  19,  1882,  dying  suddenly  after  a 
very  short  illness.  He  was  buried  with  unusual  honors  in  West- 
minster Abbey,  being  placed  among  those  whom  his  country  most 
delighted  to  honor.  Throughout  life,  despite  the  frequently  bitter 


PROGRESS  OF  SCIENCE  457 

attacks  upon  him  by  excited  opponents,  Charles  Darwin  won  high 
credit  for  unflinching  honesty  of  purpose  and  earnest  devotion  to 
truth,  while  kindliness  of  disposition  and  warm  attachment  to  his 
friends  were  marked  features  of  his  character,  which  was,  indeed, 
as  admirable  on  its  moral  and  affectional  side  as  it  was  remarkable 
from  a  purely  intellectual  point  of  view. 

DARWIN'S  INFLUENCE  IN  THE  VICTORIAN  ERA 

The  work  that  Darwin  did  lives  after  him.  It  has  profoundly 
influenced  the  thought  of  the  later  years  of  the  Victorian  era, 
making  itself  felt  not  only  in  science,  but  in  theology,  sociology, 
and  all  the  deeper  movements  of  the  age.  Huxley,  Wallace,  and 
a  dozen  other  scientists  of  eminence  took  up  the  work  where  Dar- 
win laid  it  down,  and  developed  it  so  thoroughly  that  few  educated 
people  now  thirik  of  questioning  the  theory  that  the  changes  in 
animals  are  due  to  the  struggle  for  existence  among  vast  multitudes 
and  the  survival  of  those  whose  variations  in  form  gave  them  an 
advantage  in  the  battle  of  life.  This  theory  that  the  numerous 
species  of  animals  arose  by  development  from  lower  forms,  not  by 
a  succession  of  creations,  is  now  accepted,  not  only  by  the  great 
body  of  scientists,  but  by  great  numbers  of  churchmen  as  well,  and 
is  distinctively  the  great  thought  product  of  the  Victorian  age. 

The  idea  of  evolution  thus  formulated  is  not  confined  to  the 
appearance  of  animal  and  plant  forms.  It  has  been  extended  to 
embrace  all  nature,  the  several  domains  of  which  have  been  treated 
by  able  scientific  and  philosophical  writers,  while  the  general  con- 
ception of  the  origin  of  all  things  by  a  process  of  development  has 
been  extended  to  cover  all  changes  in  the  universe,  inorganic  and 
organic  alike. 

In  this  work  a  writer,  as  eminent  in  his  way  as  Darwin,  gave 
lustre  to  the  Victorian  age,  and  calls  for  mention  as  the  leading 
philosophical  scientist,  as  Darwin  was  the  leading  practical  scientist 
of  the  period.  This  power  in  the  world  of  thought  is  Herbert 
Spencer,  the  author  of  a  complete  system  of  philosophy  based  on 


458  PROGRESS  OF  SCIENCE 

evolution,  and  illustrated  by  a  vast  multitude  of  scientific  facts,  which 
he  has  lived  to  give  to  the  world  in  its  fully  rounded  form. 

Born  in  1820,  Spencer's  work,  like  that  of  Darwin,  was  all 
included  during  the  life  of  Britain's  late  Queen.  His  "  Social 
Status,"  "  Development  Hypothesis,"  "  Principles  of  Psychology," 
and  other  able  works  appeared  before  Darwin's  "  Origin  of  Species," 
but  they  adopt  evolution  as  a  fact  and  carry  it  into  numerous  fields 
of  thought.  While  writing  these  works  the  conception  of  a  system 
of  evolutionary  philosophy  was  growing  into  form  in  his  mind,  and 
in  1860  he  announced  his  intention  to  produce  a  "System  of 
Synthetic  Philosophy,"  which  would  begin  with  the  first  principles 
of  all  knowledge,  and  trace  the  law  of  evolution  as  it  realized  itself 
stage  by  stage  in  the  realms  of  life,  mind,  society  and  morality. 

This  was  an  ambitious  programme,  but  Spencer  lived  to  carry 
it  through.  Beginning  with  his  "  First  Principles,"  published  in 
1862,  he  issued  in  succession  the  "  Principles  of  Biology,"  "  Principles 
of  Psychology,"  "  Principles  of  Sociology,"  and  "  Principles  of 
Ethics,"  the  last  work  not  being  completed  until  the  final  years  of 
the  century.  This  great  production  may  be  looked  upon  as  the 
only  truly  scientific  system  of  philosophy  in  existence.  It  is  not 
founded  on  figments  of  thought,  like  the  metaphysical  writings  of 
the  famous  German  philosophers,  but  is  strictly  physical  in  its 
foundations,  selecting  and  systematizing  the  facts  of  nature  dis- 
covered by  a  multitude  of  observers,  and  showing  how  they  fit  into 
and  strengthen  his  argument,  and  demonstrate  the  principle  of 
universal  evolution. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  strength  of  Spencer's  life  work  lies  in 
his  brilliant  powers  of  generalization,  his  wide  acquaintance  with 
science  in  its  various  fields,  and  the  unsurpassed  wealth  of  illustra- 
tions which  he  brings  to  bear  upon  his  arguments.  His  profound 
treatment  of  the  theory  of  evolution  has  deeply  influenced  the 
thought  of  the  age,  and  he  ranks  high  among  the  few  modern 
thinkers  who  have  sought  to  work  out  a  system  of  the  development 
of  the  universe  in  its  totality.  Herbert  Spencer's  works  are  not 


PROGRESS  OF  SCIENCE  459 

likely  to  supplant  the  modern  novel  with  the  great  reading  public. 
Those  who  attack  them  must  come  prepared  to  think  deeply  and 
must  be  possessed  of  an  active  power  of  reasoning.  To  these,  and 
to  these  alone,  will  the  works  of  this  great  thinker  appeal ;  but 
those  who  turn  to  them  with  a  fine  capacity  of  understanding  will 
be  amply  repaid  for  their  labor. 

SCIENCE    IN    VICTORIAN    ERA 

Leaving  now  these  great  masters  of  theoretical  science,  let  us 
consider  what  developments  in  practical  science  illumine  the  Vic- 
torian age.  It  may  be  said  here  that,  while  science  was  in  a  measure 
in  its  infancy  at  the  dawn  of  the  nineteenth  century,  there  had  been 
accumulated  facts  in  considerable  abundance  to  form  the  ground- 
work of  the  massive  edifice  about  to  be  erected.  The  building  of 

o 

this  great  temple  of  science  went  on  with  extraordinary  rapidity 
during  the  century,  and  to-day  our  knowledge  of  the  facts  of  sci- 
ence is  immensely  greater  than  that  of  our  predecessors  of  a  cen- 
tury ago  ;  while  of  the  views  entertained  and  theories  promulgated 
previous  to  1800,  the  great  "sum  have  been  thrown  overboard  and 
replaced  by  others  founded  upon  a  much  wider  and  deeper  knowl- 
edge of  facts. 

New  and  important  theoretical  views  of  science  have  been 
reached  in  all  departments.  Recent  chemistry,  for  instance,  is  a 
very  different  thing  from  the  chemistry  even  of  as  late  a  date  as  the 
accession  of  Victoria  to  the  throne.  Geology  has  been  almost  com- 
pletely transformed.  Heat,  once  supposed  to  be  a  substance,  is 
now  known  to  be  a  motion  ;  light,  formerly  thought  to  be  a  direct 
motion  of  particles,  is  now  believed  to  be  a  wave  motion  ;  new  and 
important  conceptions  have  been  reached  concerning  electricity  and 
magnetism ;  and  our  knowledge  of  the  various  sciences  that  have 
to  do  with  the  world  of  life  is  extraordinarily  advanced.  As  for  the 
practical  application  of  science,  one  extraordinary  illustration  exists 
in  the  startling  fact  that  the  substance  of  the  atmosphere,  scarcely 


460  PROGRESS  OF  SCIENCE 

known  a  century  ago,  can  now  be  reduced  to  a  liquid  and  carried 
about  like  water  in  a  bucket. 

In  view  of  the  facts  here  briefly  stated  it  might  almost  be  said 
that  science,  as  it  exists  to  -day,  is  a  result  of  the  thought  and 
observation  of  the  Victorian  age ;  since  that  of  the  past  was  largely 
theoretical  and  the  bulk  of  its  theories  have  been  set  aside,  while 
the  scientific  observations  of  former  times  were  but  a  drop  in  the 
bucket  as  compared  with  the  vast  multitude  of  those  made  within 
the  recent  period.  As  regards  the  utilization  of  scientific  facts, 
their  application  to  the  benefit  of  mankind,  this  is  almost  solely 
the  work  of  the  period  under  review,  and  in  no  direction  has  inven- 
tion produced  more  wonderful  and  useful  results. 

The  whole  vast  progress  of  science  within  the  Victorian  period, 
the  extraordinary  activity  of  investigators  in  their  researches  in  all 
parts  of  the  earth,  the  enormous  collections  of  facts  in  all  branches 
of  science,  the  brilliant  theories  that  were  evolved,  the  numerous 
and  remarkable  applications  of  scientific  discoveries  to  the  benefit 
of  mankind,  form  an  immense  accumulation  of  results  very  far 
beyond  our  power  to  consider  in  a  brief  space,  and  which,  as  a 
whole,  throws  a  brilliant  flood  of  illumination  upon  the  period  of 
Victoria's  reign.  The  most  we  can  undertake  to  do  in  the  space 
at  our  command  is  to  allude  to  a  few  of  these  lines  of  progress  and 
the  results  to  which  they  led. 

THE    OLDEST    AND    NOBLEST    OF    THE    SCIENCES 

Beginning  with  astronomy,  the  oldest  and  noblest  of  the 
sciences,  we  could  record  a  vast  number  of  minor  discoveries,  but 
shall  confine  ourselves  to  the  major  ones.  Progress  in  astronomy 
has  kept  in  close  pace  with  development  in  instruments.  The  tele- 
scope of  the  end  of  the  century,  for  instance,  has  enormously 
greater  space-penetrating  and  star-defining  powers  than  that  used 
at  the  beginning,  and  has  added  extraordinarily  to  our  knowledge 
of  the  number  of  stars,  the  character  of  their  groupings,  and  the 
constitution  of  solar  orbs  and  nebulae.  These  results  have  been 


PROGRESS  OF  SCIENCE  461 

greatly  added  to  by  the  use  of  the  camera  in  astronomy,  the  pho- 
tograph revealing  stellar  secrets  which  could  never  have  been 
learned  by  the  aid  of  the  telescope  alone.  This  has  also  the  great 
advantage  of  placing  on  record  the  positions  of  the  stars  at  any 
fixed  moment,  and  thus  rendering  comparatively  easy  the  detection 
of  motions  among  them. 

But  it  is  to  a  new  instrument  of  research,  the  spectroscope,  that 
we  owe  our  most  interesting  knowledge  of  the  stars.  This  won- 
derful instrument  enables  us  to  analyze  the  ray  of  light  itself,  to 
study  the  many  lines  by  which  the  vari-colored  spectrum  is  crossed 
and  discover  to  v/hat  substances  certain  groups  of  lines  are  due. 
From  studying  with  this  instrument  the  substances  which  compose 
the  earth,  science  has  taken  to  studying  the  stars,  and  has  found 
that  not  only  our  sun,  but  suns  whose  distance  is  almost  beyond 
the  grasp  of  thought,  are  made  up  largely  of  chemical  substances 
similar  to  those  that  exist  in  the  earth.  A  second  result  of  the  use 
of  this  instrument  has  been  to  prove  that  there  are  true  nebulae  in 
the  heavens,  masses  of  star  dust  or  vapor  not  yet  gathered  into 
orbs,  and  that  there  are  dark  suns,  great  invisible  orbs,  which  have 
cooled  until  they  have  ceased  to  give  off  light.  A  third  result  is 
the  power  of  tracing  the  motions  of  stars  which  are  passing  in  a 
direct  line  to  or  fiom  the  earth.  By  this  means  it  has  been  found  that 
many  of  the  double  or  multiple  stars  are  revolving  around  each 
ether.  A  late  discovery  in  this  direction,  made  in  1899,  is  that  the 
Polar  star,  which  appears  single  in  the  most  powerful  telescope,  is 
really  made  up  of  three  star's,  two  of  which  revolve  round  each 
other  every  four  hours,  while  the  two  together  circle  round  the 
more  distant  companion. 

In  the  group  of  sciences  known  under  the  general  title  of 
Physics — chemistry,  light,  heat,  electricity  and  magnetism — the 
progress  has  been  equally  great,  and  discoveries  of  almost  startling 
significance  were  made.  The  chemistry  of  to-day  is  in  great  part 
a  new  science,  mainly  built  up  since  Victoria  began  her  reign.  For- 
merly the  chemistry  of  lifeless  nature  and  the  chemistry  of  living 


462  PROGRESS  OF  SCIENCE 

things  were  thought  to  be  separated  by  a  wide  gap.  Now  this  gap 
has  been  closed,  and  there  is  only  one  chemistry,  while  hundreds 
of  substances,  once  to  be  had  only  from  plants,  are  now  made  by 
the  chemist  in  his  laboratory ;  some  of  them,  indigo,  for  instance, 
being  produced  more  cheaply  than  nature  is  able  to  manufacture 
them. 

PHYSICAL    SCIENCE 

Light,  one  of  the  first  of  nature's  phenomena  to  attract  the 
attention  of  man,  is  only  now  becoming  understood.  It  was  for- 
merly supposed  to  be  a  substance  given  off  by  shining  bodies,  and 
it  was  not  until  the  nineteenth  century  that  it  was  found  to  be,  not 
a  substance,  but  a  motion,  a  series  of  waves  rapidly  traversing  a 
rarefied  element  known  as  the  ether,  its  speed  of  progress  being 
more  than  186,000  miles  in  a  second. 

Much  might  be  said  about  the  discoveries  in  the  constitution 
and  applications  of  light.  Among  these  steps  of  progress  perhaps 
the  most  interesting  is  the  development  of  instantaneous  photog- 
raphy, a  striking  result  of  which  is  the  power,  by  aid  of  photographs 
taken  in  rapid  succession,  of  portraying  objects  in  motion — living 
pictures,  as  they  are  called — an  exhibit  now  so  common  and  so 
marvelous.  But  among  all  the  advances  in  the  science  of  optics 
the  most  important  are  spectrum  analysis  and  the  Rontgen  ray. 
The  remarkable  discoveries  made  ijn  astronomy  by  the  former  of 
these  have  been  already  stated.  The  Rontgen  ray,  which  has  the 
power  of  rendering  ordinarily  opaque  substances  transparent,  has 
become  of  extraordinary  value  in  surgery,  as  showing  the  exact 
location  of  foreign  substances  within  the  body,  the  position  and 
character  of  bone  fractures,  etc.  A  surgeon  to-day  can  look  through 
the  human  body,  discover  the  locality  of  many  of  its  injuries,  and 
learn  the  exact  spot  in  which  to  apply  the  knife. 

As  regards  the  phenomena  of  heat,  we  need  only  speak  of  the 
remarkable  power  now  possessed  of  producing  very  high  and 
extremely  low  temperatures.  By  the  former  the  most  refractory 
substances  may  be  vaporized.  By  the  latter  the  most  volatile 


PROGRESS  OF  SCIENCE  463 

gases  such  as  those  of  the  air,  may  be  liquified  and  even  frozen. 
The  point  of  absolute  zero,  that  in  which  all  heat  motion  would 
disappear,  is  estimated  to  be  at  the  temperature  of  274  degrees  6 
minutes  centigrade  below  the  freezing  point  of  water.  A  degree 
of  cold  within  some  forty  degrees  of  this  has  been  reached  in  the 
^liquefaction  of  hydrogen. 

i  Electricity,  formerly,  like  heat  and  light,  looked  upon  as  a  sub- 
stance, is  now  known  to  be  a  motion,  being,  in  fact,  identical  in 
origin  with  light  and  radiant  heat.  All  these  forces  are  considered 
to  be  motions  of  the  luminiferous  ether,  their  principal  distinction 
being  in  length  of  wave.  In  fact,  it  is  easy  to  convert  one  of  them 
into  the  other,  and  the  great  doctrine  of  the  conservation  and  cor- 
relation of  forces  means  simply  that  heat,  light  and  electricity  may 
be  mutually  transformed,  and  that  no  loss  of  motion  or  force  takes 
place  in  these  changes  from  one  mode  of  motion  to  another.  In 
the  operation  of  the  electric  trolley  car,  to  offer  a  familiar  example, 
the  heat  power  of  coal  is  first  transformed  into  engine  motion, 
then  into  electricity,  then  again  into  light  and  heat  within  the  car, 
then  into  mass  motion  in  the  motor,  and  finally  passes  away  as 
electricity. 

THE    APPLICATIONS    OF     ELECTRIC    POWER 

The  applications  of  electric  power  to  human  use  form  tht. 
most  striking  and  brilliant  developments  of  the  Victorian  age,  and 
open  out  before  us  a  startling  vista  of  extraordinary  future  prob- 
abilities. During  the  reign  of  the  Queen,  whose  life  we  are  con- 
sidering, the  whole  field  of  human  thought  and  action  has  been 
largely  transformed  by  the  magic  of  the  electric  current.  Its 
developments  include  the  electric  telegraph,  now  extended  over  all 
lands  and  under  all  seas  ;  the  telephone,  by  whose  aid  men  may 
speak  to  their  friends  more  than  a  thousand  miles  away ;  wireless 
telegraphy,  which  enables  information  to  be  sent  directly  through 
many  miles  of  earth  or  air ;  electric  metallurgy,  a  principle  of  the 
highest  utility  to  mankind  ;  the  electric  light,  with  whose  marvels 
we  are  all  fully  familiar ;  electric  power,  which  is  now  used  in  a 


464  PROGRESS  OF  SCIENCE 

thousand  applications ;  and  various  other  useful  employments 
of  this  universal  agent,  which  has  been  delivered  into  our  hands 
mainly  during  the  life  of  the  Queen. 

In  the  science  of  geology,  the  most  striking  theory  of  the  Vic- 
torian era  is  that  of  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  whose  "  Principles  of 
Geology"  (1830-33)  formed  an  epoch  in  the  advance  of  the  science. 
Before  his  time  the  seeming  breaks  in  the  series  of  the  rocks  were 
looked  upon  as  the  results  of  mighty  catastrophes,  vast  upheavals 
or  depressions  in  the  surface,  which  worked  widespread  destruction 
among  animals  and  plants,  these  cataclysms  being  followed  by  new 
creations  in  the  world  of  life.  Lyell  contended  that  the  forces  now 
at  work  are  of  the  same  type  as  those  which  have  been  always  at 
work ;  that  catastrophes  have  always  been  local,  as  they  are  now 
local ;  that  general  forces  have  acted  slowly,  and  that  there  has  been 
no  world-wide  break,  either  in  rock  deposits  01  the  progress  of  human 
beings.  Geology  since  Lyell's  day  has  moved  onward  in  these 
lines,  and  has  added  an  extraordinary  mass  of  facts  to  our  former 
slight  knowledge  of  the  constitution  and  evolution  of  the  earth's 
surface  and  of  the  realm  of  living  things. 

THE    STUDY    OF    THE    ATMOSPHERE    AND    ITS    PHENOMENA 

Meteorology,  the  study  of  the  atmosphere  and  its  phenomena, 
is  another  science  to  which  much  attention  was  given  during"  the 
period  under  review.  A  vast  number  of  facts  have  been  learned 
concerning  the  atmosphere,  its  variations  of  heat  and  cold,  of  calm 
and  storm,  of  pressure,  of  diminution  of  density  and  loss  of  heat 
in  ascending,  and  of  its  fluctuations  in  humidity,  with  the  variations 
of  sunshine  and  cloud,  fog,  rain,  snow,  hail,  lightning  and  other 
manifestations. 

The  study  of  the  winds  has  been  a  prominent  feature  in  the 
progress  of  this  science,  and  our  knowledge  of  the  causes  and  charac- 
ter of  storms  has  been  greatly  developed.  The  theory  that  storms 
are  due  to  great  rotary  movements  in  the  atmosphere,  immense 
cyclonic  whirls,  frequently  followed  by  reverse,  or  anti-cyclonic 


PROGRESS  OF  SCIENCE  465 

movements,  has  gone  far  to  clear  up   the  mystery  of  the  winds,- 
while  the  destructive  tornado,  the  terrific   local  whirl  in  the  winds, 
has  been  closely  studied,  though  not  yet  fully  understood. 

We  must  stop  here,  on  the  threshold  of  the  great  kingdom  of 
life,  with  its  numerous  sciences,  including  botany,  zoology,  anatomy, 
physiology,  sociology,  psychology,  anthropology,  and  various  others 
that  might  be  named,  each  bristling  with  facts  in  every  direction  in 
which  we  look.  Of  these  many  sciences  there  is  only  one  to  which 
we  need  give  special  attention,  that  of  bacteriology,  which  has  had 
its  complete  development  within  the  Victorian  era,  and  which,  while 
one  of  the  most  brilliant,  is  perhaps  the  most  vitally  important  of 
them  all  to  the  human  race. 

While  the  discovery  of  the  influence  of  bacteria  in  producing 
the  most  dangerous  and  terrible  of  diseases  was  discovered  largely 
by  French  and  German  scientists,  one  of  its  most  important  results, 
that  of  the  use  of  antiseptics  in  surgery,  was  due  to  an  Englishman, 
Sir  Joseph  Lister,  whose  valuable  discovery  has  saved  thousands  of 
lives.  But  the  whole  theory  of  the  germ-origin  of  diseases  is  oi 
incalculable  benefit  to  mankind.  Medical  science  has,  for  the  first 
time  in  history,  discovered  the  cause  of  the  frightful  epidemics 
which  for  ages  past  have  been  a  scourge  to  mankind,  and  is  rapidly 
learning  how  to  cure,  and  still  better,  how  to  prevent,  the  deadly 
assaults  of  pestilence.  If  to  give  man  a  sound  body  and  good 
health  is  the  greatest  benefit  that  could  be  conferred,  then  we  must 
credit  the  Victorian  period  with  being  supreme  over  all  that  pre- 
ceded it. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

Literature  in  the  Victorian  Age 

GREAT  Britain  came  to  the  nineteenth  century  with  a  great 
galaxy  of  famous  writers,  leading  back  through  many  cen- 
turies. The  eighteenth  century  is  rich  in  great  names,  in- 
cluding among  its  poets  Pope,  Burns,  Cowper,  Gray  and  Thomp- 
son ;  among  its  essayists,  Addison,  Swift  and  Johnson  ;  among  its 
novelists,  Richardson,  Fielding,  Smollet,  Sterne,  and  Goldsmith ; 
among  its  historians,  Gibbon,  Hume  and  Robertson.  It  crossed 
the  portals  of  the  nineteenth  century  with  a  galaxy  of  poets  more 
brilliant  than  has  appeared  in  any  equal  period  of  English  litera- 
ture, including  the  world-famous  Byron,  Wordsworth,  Coleridge, 
Shelley,  Moore,  Keats,  Scott  and  Campbell,  a  group  of  writers 
which,  taken  as  a  whole,  it  would  be  difficult  to  match  in  any  age. 

SWEET    SINGERS    OF    THIS    ERA 

These  sweet  singers  have  been  followed  by  others  who  well 
kept  up  the  standard  of  British  poetry  in  the  Victorian  age,  includ- 
ing Tennyson,  one  of  the  rarest  of  artists  in  words,  the  two  Brown- 
ings, Matthew  and  Edwin  Arnold,  William  Morris,  Swinburne,  the 
Rossettis,  and  various  others  of  lesser  note,  among  whom  we  must 
include  Alfred  Austin,  the  latest,  though  not  the  most  admired 
poet-laureate.  These  are  but  the  elder  flight  of  singing  birds  of  the 
century,  many  younger  ones  being  on  the  wing,  among  whom  at 
present  Rudyard  Kipling  leads  the  way. 

In  the  second  field  of  imaginative  literature,  that  of  the  novel, 
the  British  Isles  are  abundantly  represented,  and  by  some  of  the 
most  famous  names  anywhere  existing  in  this  domain  of  intel- 
lectual activity.  The  names  alone  of  these  writers  form  a 

466 


LITERATURE  IN  THE  VICTORIAN  AGE 


467 


catalogue  rarely  equalled  in  the  world's  literature. 
It  will  suffice  to  name  Scott,  Thackeray,  Dickens, 
Bulwer,  Charlotte  Bronte  and  Marion  Evans  as  the 
most  prominent  among  a  multitude  of  able  writers, 
containing  many  names  high  in  merit  and  rich  in 
variety  of  style.  At  the  end  of  the  century  the  field 
was  crowded  with  writers  of  sconspicuous  skill. 


THE  QUEEN'S  MORNING  RIDE 

History  has  reached  a  high  level  in  the  hands  of  some  of  the 
ablest  writers  in  this  field  known  in  any  age,  including  Macaulay, 
Freeman,  Froude,  Grote,  Thirwall,  Hallam,  Merivale,  Buckle, 
Leckey,  Carlyle  and  Green.  Two  of  these,  Carlyle  and  Macaulay, 
have  won  as  high  a  place  in  the  field  of  criticism  and  biography  as 


468  LITERATURE  IN  THE  VICTORIAN  AGE 

in  that  of  history.  In  art  criticism  Ruskin  occupies  a  unique 
position,  while  theological  subjects  and  religious  thought  are  repre- 
sented by  such  able  exponents  as  Cardinal  Newman, , Dean  Stanley, 
Canon  Liddon,  Dean  Farrar,  Martineau,  Whately,  Drummond, 
Spurgeon  and  many  others.  The  great  reviewers  include  Jeffrey, 
Sydney  Smith,  Hazlitt,  De  Ouincey  and  Foster  ;  the  wits,  Sheri- 
dan, Hook,  Jerrold,  Smith  and  Hood  ;  the  philosophers,  Stewart, 
Bentham,  Brown,  Hamilton,  Spencer  and  Mill  ;  and  the  scientists, 
Owen,  Faraday,  Murchison,  Darwin,  Huxley,  Tyndall  and  various 
others. 

STEPS    OF    PROGRESS    IN    LITERATURE 

We  may  credit  the  Victorian  age  with  several  marked  steps  of 
progress  in  literature.  The  most  meritorious  works  of  the  past 
ages  were  in  the  fields  of  poetr.y,  drama,  philosophy,  oratory,  and 
other  branches  of  imaginative  and  metaphysical  thought.  The 
practice  of  accurate  observation  and  the  literature  arising  from  it 
are  very  largely  of  nineteenth  century  development.  The  litera- 
ture of  travel,  for  instance,  is  confined  in  great  measure  to  the 
Victorian  period,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  that  of  science,  the 
comparatively  few  scientific  treatises  of  the  past  having  been 
replaced  by  a  vast  multitude  of  scientific  works.  These  are  largely 
confined  to  records  of  scientific  observation  and  discovery,  the 
gathering  of  facts  in  every  field  of  science  having  been  enormous, 
so  that  great  libraries  of  works  of  science  to-day  replace  the  scanty 
volumes  of  a  century  ago. 

A  second  field  of  nineteenth  century  advance  is  in  the  domain 
of  history.  The  history  of  the  past  is  largely  the  annals  of  kings 
and  the  story  of  wars.  Thucydides,  the  philosophical  historian  of 
Greece,  had  few  successors  before  the  recent  period,  within  which 
written  history  has  greatly  broadened  its  scope,  reaching  to  heights 
and  descending  to  depths  unattempted  before.  Histories  of  the 
people  have  for  the  first  time  been  written,  and  the  outreach  of 
historical  research  has  been  made  to  cover  institutions,  manners 
and  customs,  morals  and  superstitions,  and  a  thousand  things 


HER  MAJESTY  RECEIVES  LORD  ROBERTS,   igoi 
The  Last  Official  Act  of  the  Oueen 


LITERATURE  IN  THE  VICTORIAN  AGE  471 

neglected  by  older  authors.  History,  in  short,  has  at  once  become 
philosophical  and  scientific,  efforts  being  made  in  the  latter  direc- 
tion to  sweep  into  its  net  everything  relating  to  man,  and  in  the 
former  to  discover  the  forces  underlying  the  downward  flow  through 
time  of  the  human  race,  and  to  trace  the  influences  which  have 
given  rise  to  the  political,  social  and  other  institutions  of  mankind. 
A  still  more  special  field  of  the  Victorian  literary  development 
is  that  of  the  novel,  which  attained  some  promising  development 
in  the'latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  but  was  still  in  a  crude 
state  at  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth,  when  it  was  taken  up  by  the 
powerful  hand  of  Scott,  whose  remarkable  works  first  fairly  opened 
this  new  domain  of  intellectual  enjoyment  to  mankind.  Since  his 
time  the  literature  of  the  novel  has  grown  stupendous  in  quantity 
and  remarkable  in  quality,  reaching  from  the  most  worthless  and 
degraded  forms  of  literary  production  to  the  highest  regions  of 
human  thought.  The  novel,  as  now  developed,  covers  almost  the 
entire  domain  of  intellectual  production,  embracing  works  of 
adventure,  romance,  literal  and  ideal  pictures  of  life,  humor, 
philosophy,  religion,  science, — forming  indeed  a  great  drag-net 
•  that  sweeps  up  everything  that  comes  in  its  way. 

BOOK-MAKING    IN    THE     VICTORIAN    AGE 

There  is  another  field  of  literary  production,  more  humble  but 
not  less  useful  than  those  named,  which  has  had  an  immense 
development  within  the  Victorian  age,  that  of  the  school  text-book. 
The  text-books  of  earlier  periods  were  of  the  crudest  and  most 
imperfect  character  as  compared  with  the  multitude  of  works, 
admirably  designed  to  smooth  the  pathway  to  knowledge,  which 
now  crowd  our  schools.  In  connection  with  these  may  be  named 
the  great  development  in  methods  of  education,  and  the  spread  of 
educational  facilities,  whose  effect  has  been  such  that,  whereas  a 
century  ago  education  was  confined  to  the  few,  it  now  belongs  to 
the  many,  and  ignorance  is  being  almost  driven  beyond  the  borders 
of  civilized  nations.  These  who  cannot  read  and  write  are  becoming 


472  LITERATURE  IN  THE  VICTORIAN  AGE 

a  degraded  minority,  while  a  multitude  of  colleges  and  universities 
are  yielding  the  advantages  of  the  higher  education  to  a  constantly 
increasing  multitude. 

A  highly  important  feature  of  the  Victorian  epoch  has  been 
the  enormous  development  in  book-making.  The  wide-spread 
education  of  the  people  in  recent  times  has  created  an  extraor- 
dinary demand  for  books,  there  being  a  thousand  readers  now  to 
each  one  of  a  century  or  two  ago.  This  demand  has  given  rise  to 
as  extraordinary  a  supply,  which  is  not  offered  in  books  alone,  but 
in  periodicals  of  the  most  varied  character  and  scope,  including  a 
multitude  of  newspapers  almost  beyond  comprehension. 

The  demand  for  reading  matter  could  not  have  been  a  tenth 
part  supplied  with  the  facilities  of  half  a  century  ago,  but  man's 
powers  in  this  direction  have  steadily  increased.  From  the  intel- 
lectual side,  the  advance  in  education  has  provided  a  great  number 
of  men  competent  to  cater  to  the  multitude  of  readers,  as  authors 
in  various  fields,  editors,  reporters,  etc.,  an  army  of  able  men 
and  women  being  enlisted  in  this  work.  From  the  mechanical 
side,  invention  has  served  a  similar  purpose  ;  the  paper-making 
machinery,  with  the  use  of  wood  as  raw  material,  the  mechanical 
type-setters,  the  rapid  printing-presses,  and  other  inventions  having 
not  only  enormously  increased  the  ability  to  produce  books  and 
newspapers,  but  cheapened  them  to  such  an  extent  that  they  are 
now  within  the  reach  of  the  poorest.  A  century  ago  such  a  thing 
as  an  one-cent  newspaper  was  unknown.  Now  a  daily  that  sells  for 
more  than  a  cent  is  growing  rare.  A  century  ago  only  a  few  dic- 
tionaries, encyclopedias,  and  other  works  of  reference  were  in 
existence,  and  those  were  within  the  reach  only  of  the  well-to-do. 
Now  works  of  this  kind  are  very  numerous,  and  they  are  being 
sold  so  cheaply  and  on  such  easy  terms  of  payment  that  they  are 
widely  spread  through  the  families  of  artisans  and  farmers. 

In  truth  the  number  of  books  possessed  by  wage-earners  and 
agriculturists  to-day  is  very  much  greater  than  those  classes  form- 
erly possessed,  and  the  character  of  these  works  has  improved  so 


LITERATURE  IN  THE   I  TCTORIAN  AGE  473 

greatly  that  they  serve  a  highly  useful  purpose  in  the  advancement 
of  popular  education.  In  addition  to  the  actual  ownership  of  books, 
there  has  been  a  vast  increase  in  libraries,  and  such  an  improve 
ment  in  methods  of  distribution  that  books  of  all  kinds  are  within 
the  reach  of  the  poorest  of  city  people,  and  measures  are  being 
taken  to  place  them  at  the  disposal  of  country  people  as  well. 

What  has  been  said  about  literature  can  scarcely  be  repeated 
about  art.  The  nineteenth  century  has  developed  no  new  species 
of  fine  art,  and  in  its  productions  in  sculpture,  painting,  architec- 
ture and  music  has  given  us  no  works  superior  to  those  of  the 
earlier  centuries.  Many  names  of  artists  of  genius  could  be  given, 
if  necessary,  but  as  these  names  indicate  nothing  original  in  style 
or  superior  in  merit  there  is  no  call  to  present  them.  The  advance 
of  art  in  the  Victorian  epoch  has  been  rather  in  the  cheap  produc- 
tion and  wide  dissemination  of  works  of  art  than  in  any  originality 
of  conception. 

ADVANCE    IN     PICTORIAL    ART 

In  this  direction  the  greatest  advance  has  been  mede  in  pictorial 
art.  Methods  of  engraving  have  been  very  greatly  cheapened,  and 
the  photograph  has  supplied  the  world  with  an  enormous  multitude 
of  faithful  counterparts  of  nature.  Among  the  many  ways  in  which 
this  form  of  art  has  been  applied,  one  of  .the  most  useful  is  that  of 
book  illustration.  The  ordinary  "  picture-book"  of  the  beginning 
of  the  century  was  an  eye-sore  of  frightful  character,  its  only  allevi- 
ation being  that  the  cost  of  illustrations  prevented  many  of  them 
being  given.  The  "  half-tone  "  method  of  reproduction  of  photo- 
graphs has  made  a  wonderful  development  in  this  direction,  pictures 
that  faithfully  reproduce  in  black  and  white  scenes  of  nature  or 
art  being  now  made  with  such  cheapness  that  book  illustrations  of 
superior  character  have  grown  very  abundant,  and  it  has  become 
possible  to  illustrate  effectively  the  daily  newspaper,  laying  before 
us  in  pictorial  form  the  scenes  of  events  that  happened  only  a  few 
hours  before. 


474  LITERATURE  IN  THE   VICTORIAN  AGE 

If  we  depart  from  this  general  treatment  of  the  subject,  and 
come  to  consider  more  closely  the  literary  features  of  the  reign  of 
Queen  Victoria,  we  find  ourselves  in  a  field  of  extraordinary  fecun- 
dity. The  sky  of  English  thought  in  this  period  is  thickly  starred 
with  shining  names.  In  the  field  of  fiction,  a  writer  of  the  most 
striking  originality,  Charles  Dickens,  began  his  career  almost  in  the 
first  year  of  the  reign,  his  inimitably  amusing  "Pickwick  Papers" 
appearing  in  1836,  and  "  Oliver  Twist,"  in  which  he  began  his  war 
agiJnst  social  wrong,  in  1837.  During  the 'earlier  years  of  the 
reign  his  books  came  out  in  rapid  succession,  most  of  them  brim- 
ming with  humor,  while  many  of  them  struck  trenchant  blows  at 
the  evils  of  the  age. 

Side  by  side  with  Dickens  stood  Thackeray,  his  rival  for  public 
favor,  a  writer  as  restrained  in  method  and  polished  in  style  as 
Dickens  was  exaggerated  and  careless.  His  humor  differs  widely 
from  the  broad  fun-making  and  ludicrous  situations  of  Dickens, 
being  rather  ironical  satire  than  humor.  As  a  novelist  Thackeray 
is  unsurpassed  in  style,  in  character  drawing  and  in  power  of 
description,  while  his  story-telling  faculty  is  of  the  highest  order. 
Side  by  side,  these  two  strikingly  diverse,  yet  equally  able,  authors 
gave  lustre  to  the  early  period  of  Victoria's  reign.  A  third  author 
of  the  same  period,  Bulwer,  was  perhaps  chiefly  meritorious  for  his 
industry,  though  he  had  .an  admirable  gift  as  a  teller  of  stories, 
and  this  has  sufficed  to  keep  some  of  his  works  fresh. 

But  the  credit  of  literary  skill  in  fiction  was  not  confined  to 
the  men  of  the  reign,  several  women  of  excellent  powers  coming 
forward  to  claim  their  share  of  public  admiration.  Jane  Austen 
had  done  her  work  and  passed  away  before  Victoria  was  born,  but 
Charlotte  Bronte,  whose  works  were  published  between  1847  and 
1853,  gave  a  share  of  brilliancy  to  the  reign  of  the  woman  Sov- 
ereign, while  her  friend  and  biographer,  Mrs.  Gaskell,  produced  a 
village  epic  in  prose  in  her  delightful  "Cranford. "  But  most  illus- 
trious of  the  women  writers  of  the  reign  was  Marian  Evans 
(George  Eliot),  a  woman  of  extraordinary  ability  in  the  field  of 


LITERATURE  IN  THE   VICTORIAN  AGE  475 

fiction,  and  whose  "Adam  Bede,"  "  Mill  on  the  Floss,"  "  Middle- 
march,"  and  other  works  struck  the  world  as  a  fresh  revelation  of 
power  in  character  drawing,  fine  humor,  philosophic  thought,  and 
novelistic  skill.  Others  of  later  date,  women  and  men  alike,  who 
have  adorned  the  Victorian  reign  with  fine  examples  of  prose  fic- 
tion, might  be  named,  but  those  given  must  suffice. 

POETRY    IN    THIS    ERA 

In  poetry  the  era  was  not  less  brilliant,  and  Tennyson  in  par- 
ticular, with  his  delightful  "  Idyls  of  the  King,"  his  philosophic 
"  In  Memoriam,"  and  his  musical  lyrics,  took  the  world's  ear  captive. 
Markedly  unlike  him  in  style  appears  Browning,  concealing  his 
deep  thoughts  in  a  cloud  of  obscure  phrases,  from  which  the  gold 
of  his  verse  can  be  obtained  only  by  a  process  akin  to  mining. 
Fortunately  the  product  is  well  worth  the  pains.  Still  different  in 
method  and  subject  is  William  Morris,  who  calls  himself  "the  idle 
singer  of  an  empty  day,"  yet  who  has  given  the  world  delightful 
visions  of  an  ancient  world  of  legend  too  vapory  to.  exist  outside 
the  poet's  brain. 

Poets  dealing  in  less  ambitious  themes,  lyrical  rather  than  epi- 
cal in  handling,  yet  full  of  the  divine  spirit,  are  Rossetti,  Swin- 
burne, Matthew  and  Edwin  Arnold,  and  others  of  considerable 
merit.  Among  women  we  may  particularly  instance  Mrs.  Brown- 
ing, a  poetess  of  fine  vein  of  thought  and  rich  facility  of  expression, 
who  deservedly  ranks  among  the  most  important  of  the  women  who 
graced  the  Victorian  reign  with  their  literary  productions.  Miss 
Rossetti  also  wrote  some  charming  verses,  marked  by  much  feeling 
and  great  technical  skill. 

Leaving  these  domains  of  literary  labor,  we  find  the  Victorian 
era  well  filled  with  able  writers  in  other  fields  of  thought.  Prominent 
among  them  is  Carlyle,  a  man  who  exerted  a  most  important  influ- 
ence upon  his  age.  His  fervor,  his  eloquence,  his  sincerity,  his  stern 
appeals  to  do  one's  duty  and  cling  to  the  right,  his  rugged,  uncouth, 
but  often  intense  style,  are  familiar  to  us  all,  and  he  stands  high 


476  LITERATURE  IN  THE  VICTORIAN  AGE 

among  the  forces  that  gave  greatness  and  distinction  to  the 
recent  age. 

By  his  side  stands  another  man  as  potent  in  his  influence  upon 
the  age,  yet  as  smooth  and  flowing  in  style  as  Carlyle  was  dis- 
jointed. This  man  was  John  Ruskin,  the  famous  art  critic,  who 
denounced  false  methods  in  the  art  of  painting  as  earnestly  as  Car- 
lyle did  in  the  art  of  living.  Ruskin  was  an  enthusiast,  a  special 
'admirer  of  the  glowing  style  of  Turner  and  of  the  vagaries  of  the 
pre-Raphaelites,  yet  thoroughly  honest  and  intensely  earnest,  and 
his  influence  upon  the  art  of  the  Victorian  age  was  a  factor  of  great 
importance  in  the  history  of  that  era. 

Coming  to  a  prosier  subject  of  thought,  that  of  economics,  we 
meet  in  John  Stuart  Mill  another  author  who  threw  lustre  upon  the 
era  of  the  Queen.  He,  too,  was  seeking  the  amelioration  of.  man- 
kind, but  in  a  very  different  way  from  the  two  writers  just  named. 
In  his  hands  the  subjects  of  logic  and  the  theory  of  utilitarianism 
were  given  new  treatment,  and  in  his  "  Principles  of  Political 
Economy  "  he  -presented  many  new  ideas  to  the  world.  His  argu- 
ment was  with  the  prejudices  and  false  views  which  had  grown  up 
about  the  subject  of  industrial  and  social  relations,  and  his  influ- 
ence became  very  great. 

THE    DOMAIN    OF    HISTORY 

In  the  domain  of  history,  Macaulay  stands  prominent  as  the 
most  fluent,  lucid  and  eloquent  writer  of  the  age,  as  unlike  Carlyle 
as  the  smooth  and  slender  willow  is  unlike  the  rough  and  gnarled 
oak.  His  pictures  of  the  English  life  of  the  past  are  vividly  drawn, 
clearly  outlined,  and  touched  in  with  an  abundance  of  illustrative 
facts  whose  cumulative  effect  is  highly  convincing.  Among  the 
various  able  historians  of  the  reign  Macaulay  will  long  remain  the 
most  popular,  from  the  romantic  interest  with  which  he  invested 
the  often  dry  details  of  history. 

We  have  particularized  here  only  a  few  of  the  more  notable 
authors  of  Victoria's  reign.  There  are  others  of  less  prominence, 


LITERATURE  IN  THE  VICTORIAN  AGE  477 

yet  of  exalted  merit,  who  might  well  be  named  but  for  the  limita- 
tion of  space.  Even  in  what  is  usually  considered  the  dry  field 
of  scientific  authorship  there  are  authors  who  write  almost  with 
the  fluency  and  vim  of  novelists.  Take  Huxley,  for  instance,  with 
his  strong,  flowing,  and  argumentative  style,  bringing  scientific 
writing  well  within  the  domajn  of  pure  literature,  or  the  clear-cut 
descriptive  pages  of  Tyndall,  or  the  convincing  arguments  of  Clif- 
ford, or  a  dozen  others  who  have  enriched  literature  by  their 
popularization  of  scientific  facts. 

The  literature  of  this  long  reign  was  not  confined  to  great 
works  of  literary  art.  In  addition,  much  was  done  to  provide 
mental  pabulum  for  the  common  mind.  Before  Victoria  came  to 
the  throne  Charles  Knight  had  begun  his  "  Library  of  Entertaining 
Knowledge,"  and  in  1838  he  published  his  popular  "  Pictorial  His- 
tory of  England."  Chambers'  "Information  for  the  People" 
began  its  career  in  1833,  and  various  other  cheap  works  of 
information  adapted  to  the  average  taste  were  offered  to  the 
masses.  These  were  but  the  beginnings  of  a  reign  of  educative 
literature,  which  increased  enormously  as  the  Victorian  reign  went 
on,  and  included  works  for  the  information  of  the  people  on  a 
thousand  diverse  topics.  To  them  were  added  ambitious  collec- 
tions of  material  for  ready  reference, — dictionaries,  encyclopaedias, 
manuals  of  information,  and  other  accumulations  of  facts, — until 
by  the  end  of  the  reign  it  was  possible  for  the  humblest  cottager 
to  have  well  digested  stores  of  useful  information  at  command, 
which  the  best  libraries  scarcely  afforded  at  its  beginning.  We 
are  now  in  an  age  of  universal  education,  and  the  sun  of  the  Vic- 
torian era  has  set  upon  a  period  in  which  the  humblest  may,  with 
little  expenditure  of  cash  and  energy,  become  as  well  informed  in 
the  more  useful  topics  as  scholars  could  have  done  a  century 
before. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII 

The  Queen's  Last  Illness 

THE  first  month  of  the  new  century  had  little  more  than  half 
passed  when  the  world  was  startled  by  the  announcement 
that  the  life  of  Queen  Victoria  was  seriously  menaced.  To 
be  sure,  her  reign  was  already  unprecedently  long,  and  she  had 
reached  an  age  beyond  which  she  could  not  expect  to  see  many 
years.  She  had  celebrated  a  Jubilee  and  a  Diamond  Jubilee.  Yet 
so  accustomed  were  the  people  of  all  nations  to  see  her  on  the 
throne  of  England  that  the  prospect  of  a  change — even  a  change 
that  was  recognized  to  be  inevitable — was  a  shock.  The  Queen's 
strong  constitution  manifested  the  first  symptoms  of  serious  decay 
as  early  as  in  November  and  December,  1899,  during  the  stay  of 
the  Court  at  Windsor  when  evil  tidings  of  the  South  African  war 

o 

came  in  rapid  succession.  At  this  time  she  began  to  have  fits  of 
weeping,  which,  in  an  aggravated  form,  preceded  her  last  illness. 
Excitement  over  her  visit  to  Ireland  seemed  to  revive  her,  but 
before  the  visit-  ended  a  reaction  had  set  in. 

The  public,  it  is  believed,  was  misled  by  accounts  of  her 
alleged  replies  to  addresses  and  other  evidences  of  mental  activity, 
when,  in  reality,  the  Queen  lived  as  in  a  dream.  For  instance,  she 
is  reported  to  have  made  an  animated  reply  to  the  address  pre- 
sented to  her  at  Mount  Anville  convent,  Dublin,  whereas  all  that 
she  uttered  was  the  dazed  inquiry :  "  Where  am  I  ?" 

Her  spirits  revived  in  her  Highland  home  under  the  influence 

of  Lord  Roberts'  achievements,  but  the  death  of  Prince  Christian 

Victor,  her  grandson,  the  hopeless  reports  concerning  the  Empress 

Frederic  and  the  prospect  of  an  indefinite  prolongation  of  the  war 

478 


EDWARD  VII.  KING  OF  ENGLAND 
January  22.  1901. 


ALEXANDRA 
The  Queen  Consort  of  King  Edward  VII. 


THE  QUEEN'S  LAST  ILLNESS  481 

constituted  a  trial  under  which,  in  November,  1900,  her  health  began 
to  suffer  severely.  Still  her  spirit  remained  undaunted,  and  when  it 
was  reported  that  Kruger  had  said  that  the  war  would  claim  her  as 
one  of  its  victims,  the  Queen  declared,  "  I  may  die,  but  Mr.  Kruger 
won't  kill  me." 

In  December  her  feebleness  rapidly  increased.  Sleepless 
nights  passed  in  prayer  and  in  tears  caused  profound  anxiety  to 
her  household.  She  lost  appetite  and  began  to  shrivel  away,  pre- 
senting for  the  first  time  all  the  characteristics  of  senile  decay.  It 
has  always  been  a  source  of  wonder  to  physicians  that,  with  her 
great  appetite  and  physique,  she  had  escaped  an  apoplectic  stroke, 
but  about  this  time  a  falling  away  on  her  left  side  and  the  loss  of 
power  in  her  left  arm  and  leg  caused  apprehension  of  approaching 
paralysis. 

So  alarming  was  her  condition  at  the  beginnig  of  December 
that  the  royal  family  was  precluded  for  the  time  from  going  on  the 
continent.  The  change  to  Osborne  did  not  work  the  benefit  that 
had  been  anticipated  from  it,  as  news  of  the  war  and  of  the 
Empress  Frederic's  illness  had  become  a  constant  anxiety  to  the 
Queen,  and  she  suffered  with  increasing  frequency  from  depression 
and  weeping. 

She  was  constantly  referring  to  the  death  of  the  Duke  of  Saxe- 
Coburg,  and  expressed  the  wish  to  see  the  Duchess,  who  accord- 
ingly, was  brought  to  Osborne,  but  the  first  interview  with  the 
Duchess  left  the  Queen  prostrated  with  grief.  The  last  drive  she 
had  with  the  Duchess  as  a  companion  was  on  Tuesday,  the  i5th  of 
January.  On  her  return  the  Queen  was  asleep  in  the  carriage,  in 
which  condition  she  was  taken  to  bed,  from  which  she  never  rose. 

Dr.  Pagenstecher,  the  great  expert  in  eye  diseases,  was  sum- 
moned to  Osborne.  The  Queen  suffered  acutely  with  her  eyes,  i 
owing  to  constant  weeping.  Dr.  Pagenstecher  made  a  general 
examination  on  Monday,  and  reported  that  there  was  nothing  organ- 
ically wrong  with  the  Queen,  and  that  she  was  suffering  only  from 
nervous  exhaustion. 


482  THE  QUERN'S  LAST  ILLNESS 

Still  she  harped  on  the  war,  and  Mr.  Joseph  Chamberlain  was 
commanded  to  go  to  Osborne  House  to  console  her.  His  efforts 
were  fruitless,  and  it  is  said  that  the  Queen  abruptly  closed  the  audi- 
ence, directing  subsequently  that  Earl  Roberts  be  invited.  His  inter- 
view on  Tuesday  was  more  prolonged.  It  was  immediately  after  this 
that  the  Queen  went  for  a  drive  with  the  Duchess  of  Saxe-Coburg. 

For  a  fortnight  before  Sir  Francis  Laking,  without  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  public,  had  been  assisting  Sir  James  Reid  at  Osborne 
House  in  professional  attendance  upon  the  Queen,  and  on  Thurs- 
day Sir  Douglas  Powell,  the  famous  heart  and  lung  specialist,  was 
summoned,  owing  to  two  attacks  of  heart  failure  during  Wednesday 
night. 

The  condition  of  the  Queen  now  assumed  the  gravest  com- 
plexion. Still  the  Prince  of  Wales,  in  order  to  allay  public  appre- 
hension of  the  real  facts,  went  to  Earl  Roberts'  dinner  and  subse- 
quently to  the  theatre  on  Thursday  night.  On  that  day  the  Queen 
had  a  stroke  of  paralysis  and  sank  into  a  comatose,  or  semi-comatose, 
condition,  occasionally  asking,  "  Is  the  war  over?" 

On  Saturday  morning,  January  iQth,  the  Queen's  physicians 
issued  a  reassuring  bulletin,  and  members  of  the  royal  family  started 
to  carry  out  their  usual  plans.  Later,  alarming  dispatches  went  to 
London,  that  the  Queen  was  at  the  point  of  death,  and  members 
of  the  royal  family  hastened  toward  Osborne  as  swiftly  as  special 
trains  could  carry  them  from  every  part  of  Europe.  All  around 
Europe  went  tidings  to  the  Kaiser,  the  Czar,  the  King  of  the  Bel- 
gians, the  King  of  Greece,  the  King  of  Denmark  and  the  scores  of 
the  Queen's  descendants,  princes  great  and  small.  The  Queen  was 
understood  to  be  suffering  from  an  intestinal  trouble  of  a  cancerous 
nature,  which  shut  off  all  hope  of  recovery.  The  doctors  described  it 
as  "  extreme  physical  prostration,"  but  in  reality  it  was  a  state  of  semi- 
consciousness.  Added  to  her  other  ailments  was  her  almost  com- 
plete loss  of  sight.  The  only  consolation  for  her  children  and  near 
relatives  was  that  she  was  spared  suffering.  A  dispatch  gave  a 


THE  QUEEN'S  LAST  ILLNESS  483 

picture  of  the  effect  of  the  unwelcome  news  on  the  capital  Saturday 
night : 

'  To-night  was  one  of  the  gloomiest  nights  London  has  ever 
known.  Not  a  light  flickered  from  Buckingham  Palace,  where  so 
many  stately  functions  had  been  ordered  by  the  Queen. 

"  The  old  palace  of  St.  James,  where  the  girlish  Sovereign  had 
shown  herself  at  the  window  when  her  accession  was  proclaimed 
sixty-three  years  ago,  was  dark  and  gloomy,  and  there  were  no 
lights  in  Marlborough  House. 

"  Pall  Mall  was  empty  and  silent,  and  the  Strand  was  strangely 
quiet  at  the  theatre  hour.  It  was  the  first  night  at  the  Globe 
Theatre,  where  'Sweet  Nell  of  Old  Drury  '  had  returned  in  triumph 
from  the  provinces,  and  the  old  playhouse  was  crowded  to  welcome 
her.  Miss  Nielson  has  seldom  acted  with  more  pathos  and  dramatic 
force,  and  Frederick  Terry  as  merry  Charles  was  brilliantly  effective 
but  if  the  audience  enjoyed  the  entertainment  it  did  not  forget  the 
shadow  of  the  impending  calamity  at  Osborne. 

"  When  the  plaudits  ceased  at  the  close  of  the  play  '  God  Save 
the  Queen '  was  sung  with  fervor  and  solemnity,  as  was  done  also 
at  every  theatre  and  concert  hall.  Slowly  the  theatres  were 
emptied,  and  the  Strand,  Whitehall  and  Piccadilly  were  quiet  and 
dreary." 

ALL    EYES    CENTRED    ON    THE    ISLE    OF    WIGHT. 

London  was  not  alone  in  her  gloom.  The  eyes  and  hearts  of 
all  the  world  were  centred  on  the  little  Isle  of  Wight,  where,  at 
Cowes,  stands  Osborne  House.  America  especially  waited  in  sus- 
pense, hoping  for  the  best,  but  fearing  the  worst.  In  Plymouth 
Church,  New  York  city,  Sunday  morning,  the  organist,  at  the 
close  of  the  usual  organ  prelude,  branched  off  into  the  American 
national  hymn,  "  My  Country,  'Tis  of  Thee."  The  tune  being  the 
same  as  that  of  "  God  Save  the  Queen,"  several  persons  in  the 
congregation  arose  and  commenced  singing  the  English  national 
anthem,  having  been  moved  by  the  news  of  the  Queen's  illness. 
The  whole  audience  then  stood  up,  and  while  the  greater  portion 


484  THE  QUEEN'S  LAST  ILLNESS 

sang  "  My  Country,  'Tis  of  Thee,"  the  rest  sang  "  God  Save  the 
Queen."  Later,  in  his  prayer,  Dr.  Hillis  referred  to  the  Queen. 
He  said  : 

"  Be  gracious  this  day  unto  the  nation  across  the  sea.  Regard 
Thy  servant,  Queen  Victoria,  and  recover  her  unto  health  and 
power  if  it  be  Thy  will.  And  to  the  home  where  the  candle 
flickers  low  in  the  socket  grant  the  peace  of  God  to  the  people 
who  have  always  loved  her,  and  may  Thy  servant  be  able  to  say 
with  them  :  '  I  live  because  Thy  rod  and  Thy  staff,  they  comfort 
me.'" 

The  night  of  the  2Oth  (Saturday)  the  members  of  the  royal 
family  were  gathered  in  a  room  adjoining  the  Queen's  bed  cham- 
ber. A  collapse  occurred  unexpectedly  about  10  o'clock,  when  the 
Queen  had  a  severe  sinking  spell,  with  an  increase  of  the  paralytic 
symptoms  ;  and  the  physicians  resorted  to  artificial  methods  of  pro- 
longing life,  such  as  are  used  only  in  extreme  cases.  Immediately 
on  the  occurrence  of  the  collapse,  a  message  was  sent  to  London 
summoning  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  Emperor  William,  the  latter 
having  arrived  by  fast  passage  from  Germany.  The  Prince  of 
Wales  was  in  such  ill  health  that  it  was  utterly  impossible  for  him 
to  leave  London  at  that  hour,  but  Monday  morning  he  drove  up 
to  Osborne  House  with  the  Emperor.  A  crowd  met  them  as  they 
disembarked  at  Cowes.  Naturally,  there  was  no  cheering,  but  the 
men  present  took  off  their  hats,  and  the  German  Emperor  cordially 
and  frequently  responded  by  bowing.  They  drove  to  Osborne 
House  in  open  carriages,  arriving  there  at  half-past  eleven  o'clock. 
The  Prince  of  Wales  appeared  to  be  half  dazed,  and  the  eyes  of 
the  Duke  of  York  were  red,  while  the  Duchess  of  Connaught  did 
not  cease  crying.  There  was  intense  relief  at  Osborne  House  on 
the  arrival  of  the  imperial  and  royal  party,  for  several  times  during 
the  course  of  the  morning  it  was  feared  that  the  Queen  would  not 
live  to  hear  of  the  return  of  the  Prince  of  Wales.  By  the  use  of 
desperate  remedies,  however,  the  Queen's  feeble  life  was  prolonged, 
and,  when  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  Emperor  William  entered  the 


THE  QUEEN'S  LAST  ILLNESS  485 

castle  grounds,  they  found  the  Queen  a  trifle  better  than  had  been 
expected. 

Early  in  the  afternoon  the  Queen  regained  consciousness. 
She  asked  that  her  little  Pomeranian  spaniel  be  brought  to  her 
bedside.  Her  rally  astonished  no  one  more  than  her  physicians, 
and  when  at  four  o'clock  they  heard  her  ask  for  light  refreshment, 
their  amazement  almost  equalled  their  delight.  But  they  built  no 
false  hopes  upon  these  fading  signs  of  what  has  been  one  of  the 
strongest  constitutions  with  which  a  woman  was  ever  endowed. 

THE  QUEEN'S  ILLNESS  OVERSHADOWED  EVERYTHING  ELSE 

In  London  the  Queen's  illness  overshadowed  everything  else. 
Even  the  war  in  South  Africa  was  forgotten.  Lord  Roberts  went 
himself  to  Buckingham  Palace  to  write  his  name  in  the  visitors' 

o 

book  and  ask  for  news.  There  was  intense  sadness  in  the  rugged 
old  Field  Marshal's  face,  and  he  uttered  not  a  word  to  the  military- 
looking  gentleman  who  accompanied  him  as,  followed  by  a  crowd, 
he  walked  up  St.  James  Street.  The  mall  in  front  of  Marlborough 
House,  the  residence  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  was  blocked  from 
eleven  o'clock  on  with  callers  anxious  to  sign  their  names.  From 
every  quarter  of  both  hemispheres  expressions  of  sympathy  and 
love  poured  in,  and  of  these  none  was  so  appreciated  as  those  from 
the  United  States  and  Canada.  It  was  remarked  that  in  all  parts 
of  America  the  illustrious  patient  was  referred  to  under  the 
simple  title  of  "  The  Queen,"  and  the  deep  affection  implied  by  this 
term  was  greatly  appreciated.  The  Queen's  illness  caused  a  pro- 
found sensation  in  Pretoria.  Francis  Joseph,  Emperor  of  Austria 
and  King  of  Hungary,  countermanded  the  Court  ball  at  Vienna 
fixed  for  Monday  evening.  In  Paris  the  evening  papers  published 
more  frequent  editions,  which  were  quickly  sold,  and  the  subjects 
of  the  Czar  of  Russia  freely  admitted  that  Queen  Victoria  had 
been  one  of  the  principal  bulwarks  of  peace. 

Despite  the  favorable  afternoon,  the  doctors  dreaded  greatly 
the  period  between  six  o'clock  and  midnight.  When  that  was 


486  THE  QUEEN'S  LAST  ILLNESS 

safely  passed,  they  seemed  hopeful  that  the  Queen  would  live  at 
least  through  another  day,  although  the  memory  of  the  previous 
night's  relapse  kept  their  anxiety  at  high  tension.  Well  were  they 
anxious,  for  it  was  the  last  midnight  the  Queen  was  to  pass. 

THE    LAST    SCENE 

Tuesday  came,  the  twenty-second  of  January,  1901.  It  was 
feared  that  the  Queen  was  dying  about  nine  in  the  morning,  and 
carriages  were  sent  to  Osborne  Cottage  and  the  Rectory  to  bring 
all  the  Princes  and  Princesses  and  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  to  her 
bedside.  It  seemed  then  very  near  the  end;  but,  when  things 
looked  the  worst,  the  Queen  had  one  of  the  rallies  due  to  her  won- 
derful constitution,  opened  her  eyes,  and  recognized  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  the  Princess  and  Emperor  William.  She  asked  to  see  one 
of  her  faithful  servants,  a  member  of  the  household.  He  hastened 
to  the  room.  Before  he  got  there  the  Queen  had  passed  into  a 
fitful  sleep.  Four  o'clock  marked  the  beginning  of  the  end.  Again 
the  family  were  summoned,  and  this  time  the  relapse  was  not  fol- 
lowed by  recovery. 

Around  her  were  gathered  nearly  all  the  descendants  of  her 
line.  Well  within  view  of  her  dying  eyes  there  hung  a  portrait  of 
the  Prince  Consort.  It  was  he  who  designed  the  room  and  every 
part  of  the  castle.  In  scarcely  audible  words  the  white-haired 
Bishop  of  Winchester  prayed  beside  her,  as  he  had  often  prayed 
with  his  Sovereign,  for  he  was  her  chaplain  at  Windsor.  Wfith 
bowed  heads  the  imperious  ruler  of  the  German  Empire  and  the 
man  who  is  now  King  of  England,  the  woman  who  has  succeeded 
to  the  title  of  Queen,  the  Princes  and  Princesses,  and  those  of  less 
than  royal  designation,  listened  to  the  Bishop's  ceaseless  prayer. 

Six  o'clock  passed.  The  Bishop  continued  his  intercession. 
One  of  the  younger  children  asked  a  question  in  shrill,  childish 
treble,  and  was  immediately  silenced.  The  women  of  this  royal 
family  sobbed  faintly  and  the  men  shuffled  uneasily. 


THE  QUEEN'S  LAST  ILLNESS  487 

At  exactly  half-past  six  Sir  James  Reid  held  up  his  hand,  and 
the  people  in  the  room  knew  that  England  had  lost  her  Queen. 
The  Bishop  pronounced  the  Benediction. 

The  Queen  passed  away  quite  peacefully.  She  suffered  no 
pain.  Those  who  were  now  mourners  went  to  their  rooms.  The 
Prince  of  Wales  was  very  much  affected  when  the  doctors  at  last 
informed  him  that  his  mother  had  breathed  her  last.  Emperor 
William,  himself  deeply  affected,  did  his  best  to  minister  comfort  to 
his  sorrow-stricken  uncle,  whose  new  dignity  he  was  the  first  to 
acknowledge.  A  few  minutes  later  the  inevitable  element  of 
materialism  stepped  into  this  pathetic  chapter  of  international 
history,  for  the  court  ladies  went  busily  to  work  ordering  their 
mourning  from  London.  The  wheels  of  the  world  were  jarred 
when  the  announcement  came  ;  but  in  this  palace  at  Osborne  every- 
thing pursued  the  usual  course. 

THE    NEWS    SPREADS 

The  outside  world  was  not  long  in  hearing  of  the  event.  The 
watchers  at  the  lodge-gates  had  waited  nervously.  Suddenly  along 
the  drive  from  the  house  came  a  horseman,  who  cried  as  he  dashed 
through  the  crowds,  "The  Queen  is  dead*!" 

Then  down  the  hillside  rushed  a  myriad  of  messengers,  pass- 
ing the  fateful  bulletin  from  one  to  another.  Soon  the  surround- 
ing country  knew  that  a  King  ruled  over  Great  Britain.  The  local 
inhabitants  walked  as  if  in  a  dream  through  the  streets  of  Cowes, 
but  they  did  not  hesitate  to  stop  to  drink  the  health  of  the  new 
monarch. 

The  news  was  announced  in  London  by  the  following  dis- 
patch from  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  the  Lord-Mayor : 

OSBORNE,  6:45  P.M. 

My  beloved  mother  has  just  passed  away,  surrounded  by  her  children  and 
grandchildren.  ALBERT  EDWARD. 

The  Lord-Mayor  replied  to  the  Prince  of  Wales  as  follows : 


488  THE  QUEEN'S  LAST  ILLNESS 

Your  Royal  Highness'  telegram  announcing  the  nation's  great  loss  I  have 
received  with  profound  distress  and  grief,  and  have  communicated  this  most 
sad  intimation  to  my  fellow  citizens.  Her  Majesty's  name  and  memory  will 
forever  live  in  the  hearts  of  her  people. 

May  I  respectfully  convey  to  your  Royal  Highness  and  to  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  royal  family  the  earnest  sympathy  and  condolence  of  the  City  of 
lyondon  in  your  great  sorrow  ? 

Two  hours  before  the  receipt  of  the  Prince's  telegram  given 
above,  this  bulletin  was  posted  at  the  Mansion  House  : 

OSBORNE,  4  P.M. 

My  painful  duty  obliges  me  to  inform  you  that  the  life  of  our  beloved 
Queen  is  in  the  greatest  danger.  ALBERT  EDWARD. 

A  scrap  of  paper  a  foot  square,  posted  on  the  wall  of  the  Man- 
sion House  at  6:58  o'clock,  gave  the  first  notice  to  London's  home- 
ward-hurrying thousands  of  the  death  of  the  Queen-Empress  and 
the  advent  of  a  King.  Excavations  by  which  the  street  had  been 
torn  up  made  access  to  the  bulletin  difficult.  But  the  bared  heads 
of  a  silent  group  under  a  flickering  gas-jet  told  the  crowds  on  the 
'bus  tops  and  sidewalks  that  the  Queen  was  no  more. 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  more  than  a  thousand  newsboys 
had  invaded  the  streets  with  black -ruled  newspapers,  crying, 
"  Death  of  the  Queen  ! "  while  through  the  dark  streets  boomed 
the  deep-toned  notes  of  the  big  bell  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  and  the 
bells  of  the  city  churches  re-echoing  the  news. 

The  bell  tolled  at  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  was  the  gift  of  William 
III.,  and  is  used  only  on  occasions  of  the  death  of  royal  person- 
ages, Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  Lord-Mayors  of  London  and 
Bishops  of  London.  The  tolling  continued  for  two  hours  at  inter- 
vals of  a  minute,  and  could  be  heard  for  miles  in  the  direction  of 
the  wind.  Some  hundreds  of  people  stood  in  front  of  the  Cathe- 
dral around  the  spot  where  Queen  Victoria  prayed  on  the  sixtieth 
anniversary  of  her  accession  to  the  throne. 

The  death  of  the  Queen  was  heard  everywhere  with  sorrow, 
and  the  new  ruler  received  the  condolences  of  the  world.  President 


SOLDIERS   OF   THE  QUEEN 

Her  Majesty  decoratingl  Private  Vickery  and  Piper  Findlateriwith  the  V.C.,  at  Netley  Hospital, 

Saturday,  May  14,  1898 
Drawn  by  J.  Finnemore,  R.B.A. 


THE  QUEEN'S  LAST  ILLNESS  491 

McKinley  sent  a  message  of  condolence  and  received  a  reply  from 
King  Edward. 

The  United  States  Senate  was  in  executive  session  when  news 
of  the  Queen's  death  arrived.  The  bulletin  announcing  the  eVent 
was  passed  in  through  the  doorkeepers.  When  the  executive  ses- 
sion closed,  Senator  Allison  offered  the  following  resolution,  which 
was  adopted  unanimously  and  ordered  to  be  engrossed  and  for- 
warded to  the  Prime  Minister  of  Great  Britain  : 

"  That  the  death  of  her  royal  and  imperial  Majesty,  Victoria, 
of  noble  virtues  and  great  renown,  is  sincerely  deplored  by  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  of  America." 

In  the  House  Representative  Hitt  offered  the  following: 

''Resolved,  That  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  has  learned  with  profound  sorrow  of  the  death 
of  her  Majesty,  Queen  Victoria,  and  sympathizes  with  her  people 
in  the  loss  of  their  beloved  Sovereign ;  that  the  President  be 
requested  to  communicate  this  expression  of  the  sentiment  of  the 
House  to  the  Government  of  Great  Britain  ;  that,  as  a  further  mark 
of  respect  to  the  memory  of  Queen  Victoria,  the  House  do  now 
adjourn." 

The  reading  of  the  resolution  was  listened  to  in  impressive 
silence  and  unanimously  adopted,  and  the  House  adjourned. 

The  flag  on  the  Executive  Mansion  was  placed  at  halfmast  at 
3.30  o'clock.  So  far  as  any  record  goes,  this  was  the  first  time  in 
the  history  of  the  United  States  that  this  mark  of  respect  had  been 
paid  to  the  memory  of  a  foreign  ruler.  The  papers  contained 
editorials  praising  the  character  of  the  Queen,  and  devoted  columns 
to  accounts  of  her  life  and  reign. 

Queen  Victoria's  body  was  embalmed  and  the  casket  reposed 
in  the  centre  of  the  dining-room,  which  was  hung  with  trappings 
of  mourning.  Two  Indian  attendants  remained  within,  in  company 
with  the  ladies  in-waiting.  The  body  was  robed  in  black.  Trie  face 
was  perfectly  peaceful,  and  the  remains  were  placed  with  the  arms 
folded.  On  the  breast  rested  a  beautiful  gold  cross.  The  head 


492  THE  QUEEN'S  LAST  ILLNESS 

was  inclined  slightly  to  the  right.  All  about  were  quantities  of 
flowers. 

The  honor  of  first  seeing  the  body  of  the  Queen  was  conferred 
on  her  personal  retinue,  and  such  a  simple,  pathetic  scene  as 
marked  the  afternoon  could  hardly  have  occurred  in  any  other 
monarchy.  All  the  servants  and  tenants  were  admitted.  The  foot- 
men, housemaids,  coachmen,  stable-lads  and  policemen,  dressed  in 
their  Sunday  clothes,  filed  through  the  room  for  four  hours. 

There  were  no  formalities.  It  might  have  been  the  body  of 
any  country  lady,  whose  tenants  were  bidding  her  a  last  farewell. 
Bent  old  men,  children  and  families,  who  had  grown  up  on  the 
estate,  who  regarded  Queen  Victoria  as  a  friend  and  patron  rather 
than  as  a  sovereign,  took  their  turn,  and  their  grief  was  the  sorrow 
of  those  who  had  lost  a  friend.  Many  humble  residents  of  Cowes 
and  neighboring  towns,  besides  many  prominent  people,  were  early 
to  pay  their  last  sad  tribute  of  affection. 

THE    NEW    KING 

The  Prince  of  Wales  now  became  King,  and  without  Act  of 
Parliament  he  assumed  the  prerogatives  of  his  office.  The  Kingr 
departed  for  London  early  on  the  following  -morning,  and  as 
unostentatiously  as  an  American  President.  He  and  his  suite,  in 
civilian  attire,  left  the  castle  without  a  military  escort  and  with  no 
sign  of  pomp. 

The  route  from  Osborne  House  to  Trinity  Pier  was  deserted, 
except  for  a  few  groups  of  bareheaded  persons,  when,  at  9.40 
o'clock,  three  open  carriages  drawn  by  white  horses  galloped  down 
the  hill.  In  the  first  carriage  were  the  King,  the  Duke  of  Con- 
naught,  the  Duke  of  York  and  Prince  Christian.  The  King  seemed 
sad  but  bowed  repeatedly  in  acknowledgment  of  the  greeting  of 
his  subjects.  The  royal  personages  immediately  embarked  on  the 
royal  yacht  Alberta.  The  royal  standard  was  hoisted  as  the  King 
touched  the  deck.  As  the  Alberta  started  off;  signals  were  shown, 
ordering  that  no  salutes  should  be  fired.  The  crews  of  the  cruiser 


THE  QUEEN'S  LAST  ILLNESS  493 

Australia  and  the  other  royal  yachts  were  mustered  as  the  Alberta 
steamed  by.  The  commencement  of  the  King's  first  voyage  was  a 
memorable  and  impressive  event. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  the  ceremonies  of  the  King's  acces- 
sion to  the  throne  were  performed,  after  which  he  returned  to 
Osborne.  On  the  twenty-fifth  the  royal  family  took  their  last  loving 
look  at  the  features  of  the  dead  Queen.  About  10  o'clock  in  the 
morning  the  shell,  or  inner  coffin,  was  brought  into  the  bedroom, 
where  were  waiting  King  Edward,  Emperor  William,  the  Duke  of 
Connaught,  Sir  James  Reid  and  the  royal-ladies.  The  latter  having 
retired,  Sir  James  Reid,  with  reverent  hands,  assisted  by  three 
trusted  household  servants,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  King,  the 
Emperor  and  the  Duke,  removed  the  body  from  the  bed  to  the 
coffin.  In  death  it  was  lovelier  than  in  the  closing  days  of  life. 
Not  a  trace  of  the  ravages  of  disease  was  visible. 

The  servants  having  retired,  Queen  Alexandra,  the  Princess 
and  the  children  were  recalled,  and,  with  lingering  steps  and  stifled 
sobs,  they  passed  slowly  before  the  white-robed  and  peaceful  figure. 
At  the  foot,  never  moving,  stood  the  King,  and  when  the  mourn- 
ing crowd  had  passed  there  remained  only  the  son  and  grandson  of 
the  dead. 

THE    COFFIN    CLOSED    FOREVER 

Emperor  William  wept  even  more  bitterly  than  the  royal 
ladies.  Finally  he  also  retired,  and  the  King  was  left  alone.  Sir 
lames  Reid,  beckoning  to  the  servants  who  were  holding  the  coffin- 
lid,  asked  the  King's  instructions.  For  a  few  seconds  the  King 
stood  speechless,  stricken  with  emotion  at  the  last  farewell.  Then 
he  said  quickly,  "Close  it  finally.  It  must  not  be  opened  again." 
Thus  the  remains  of  England's  greatest  ruler  were  forever  closed 
from  human  view. 

Reverently  the  coffin  was  borne  into  the  dining-room.  Officers 
and  men  from  the  royal  yachts  took  their  stand  around  the  coffin, 
over  which  the  King,  Queen  and  Kaiser  gently  laid  the  robes  of  a 


494  THE  QUEEN'S  LAST  ILLNESS 

Knight  of  the  Garter,  placing  at  the  head  a  diamond  crown. 
Beneath  lay  the  royal  ensign,  while  hanging  above  was  the  Union 
Jack. 

At  the  altar  was  the  rector  of  Whippingham,  who  read  a  por- 
tion of  the  funeral  service  in  the  presence  of  the  royal  family. 
Emperor  William  covered  his  face  with  his  hands,  and  the  grief  of 
Princess  Beatrice,  so  long  the  companion  of  her  mother,  was  pitiful. 
After  the  benediction  each  placed  a  wreath  upon  the  coffin,  and 
then  all  retired. 

By  a  special  request  of  the  family,  the  authorities  at  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral  had  sent  to  Osborne  the  six  candelabra  used  at  the 
funeral  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 

Sunday,  the  27th,  all  places  of  worship  throughout  the 
United  Kingdom  held  services  in  memory  of  Queen  Victoria. 
At  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  there  was  an  unusual  scene.  Before  9 
o'clock  in  the  morning  an  enormous  crowd,  wholly  attired  in  black, 
streamed  from  all  directions  to  the  vast  edifice,  and  by  10  o'clock 
it  was  packed.  Thousands,  unable  to  obtain  admission,  stood  vainly 
waiting  on  the  steps  and  around  listening  to  the  low  organ  strains 
and  muffled  peals.  The  service  began  at  half-past  10.  The  Most 
Rev.  Frederick  Temple,  Primate  and  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
preached  a  touching  sermon,  while  the  breathless  thousands  in 
silence  repressed  their  grief. 

There  was  a  similar  scene  at  Westminster  Abbey,  where  all 
the  services  throughout  the  day  were  attended  by  enormous  con- 
gregations. The  large  assemblage  in  the  Chapel  Royal,  at  St. 
James'  Palace,  included  Princess  Frederica  of  Hanover,  Prince 
Francis  of  Teck,  a  host  of  titled  people,  many  members  of  the 
Cabinet  and  other  distinguished  persons. 

At  Osborne,  also,  a  memorial  service  was  held.  Lord 'Roberts 
and  Mr.  William  St.  John  Broderick,  Secretary  of  State  for  War, 
were  present  at  morning  prayers  in  Whippingham  Church  at  1 1 
o'clock.  An  hour  later  King  Edward,  Queen  Alexandra  and  all 
the  royal  personages  then  at  Osborne  arrived  at  the  church  for  the 


THE  QUEEN'S  LAST  ILLNESS  495 

memorial  service.  This  was  a  simple  function,  the  hymns  being 
sung  by  an  unsurpliced  choir  of  school  children.  Sir  Walter  Par- 
ratt,  private  organist  to  the  late  Queen  and  organist  to  St.  George's 
Chapel  Royal,  Windsor,  played  several  funeral  excerpts.  The 
Bishop  of  Winchester  delivered  an  eloquent  panegyric  upon  Vic- 
toria, and  declared  that  Emperor  William's  action  in  coming  to  her 
deathbed  had  touched  the  hearts  of  the  British  people  and 
cemented  the  unity  and  friendship  of  the  two  kindred  nations.  At 
the  conclusion  of  the  service  all  stood  during  a  performance  of 
the  "  Dead  March." 

Then  for  more  than  a  week  the  body  rested  at  Osborne 
House  while  the  imposing  ceremonies  of  Victoria's  funeral  were 
being  arranged. 


THE  MAP  OF  THE  WORLD  AT  TIME  OF  VICTORIA'S  BIRTH 

Showing  the  possessions  of  the  six  great  Powers — Great  Britain,  Spain,  France,  Germany,  Russia  and 

the  United  States.     Of  the  Chinese  Empire,  Africa  and  Australia,  little  was 

known  at  the  beginning  of  the  century. 


THE  MAP  OF  THE  WORLD  AT  END  OF  VICTORIA  S  REIGN 

Showing  the  political  boundaries  of  the  six  great  Powers  at  the  close  of  the  century.     Africa,  Australia 

and  portions  of  China  have  been  absorbed  by  one  or  more  of  the  great  Powers. 

Spain  has  withdrawn  from  the  'Western  Hemisphere,  and  South 

America  is  held  by  independent  governments. 

49* 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

The    Imposing    Funeral    Pageant 

OTHER  rulers  have  had  obsequies  of  imposing  splendor, 
but  the  ceremonies  that  marked  the  passing  of  Victoria 
were  supreme  in  their  manifestations  of  regard  and  sorrow. 

The  spectacle  of  the  millions  of  her  people  bowed  in  grief  was 
sublime.  Their  silence  was  an  eloquent  tribute  of  their  sorrow. 
It  was  a  procession  such  as  the  world  had  never  seen  before. 

The  Queen  was  the  first  English  sovereign  who  was  not  buried 
at  night  and  by  torchlight.  After  the  death  of  Prince  Albert,  she 
wrote,  in  1862,  and  later  revised,  explicit  directions  concerning  her 
funeral.  It  was  her  wish  that  the  ceremonial  should  copy  that  of 
the  Prince  Consort,  so  far  as  possible.  Her  plans  were  not  altered 
in  any  material  respect,  and  her  wishes  were  reverently  followed. 

The  journey  from  Osborne,  where  she  breathed  her  last,  to 
Windsor  Castle,  where  her  body  was  entombed,  was  taken  in  three 
stages —  the  naval  procession  from  Osborne  to  Portsmouth  harbor, 
the  land  cavalcade  from  the  harbor  to  Windsor,  and  the  simple 
final  transfer  from  the  chapel  at  Windsor  to  the  mausoleum  at 
Frogmore.  It  was  fitting  that  the  navy  and  army,  Neptune  and  Mars, 
should  lend  their  services  to  the  royal  mourners,  that  the  last  tributes 
might  be  worthily  paid  to  the  sovereign  of  a  people  invincible  in 
war,  on  land  and  on  sea.  And  worthily  were  they  paid !  Through 
that  capital  that  had  so  often  shown  a  devotion  to  her  beyond  that 
usually  accorded  to  monarchs,  passed  an  imposing  escort  led  by 
Edward  VII.  and  four  monarchs  of  friendly  and  related  powers. 

Not  that  it  was  a  cortege  of  display.  On  the  contrary,  its 
magnificence  lay  in  its  simplicity  and  its  dignity.  The  lavish  pomp 

497 


498  THE  IMPOSING  FUNERAL 

of  rulers  less  beloved  vanishes  before  this  spectacle  unique  in  the  his- 
tory of  nations — the  spectacle  of  the  metropolis  of  the  world  awed 
into  mournful  silence — business  and  pleasure  ceased  for  a  while — 
to  witness  the  solemn  procession  of  the  beloved  dead.  It  has  been 
many  a  long  day  since  a  monarch  of  England  was  buried,  and  many 
a  reign  must  yet  pass  before  the  like  of  the  Victorian  pageant  is 
seen  again.  But  let  us  with  reverence  start  with  the  last  rites  as 

o 

they  began  Saturday,  the  2d  of  February,  at  Osborne  House,  on 
the  Isle  of  Wight.  For  nine  days  the  beloved  Queen  had  been 
mourned  by  her  children  in  Osborne  House,  waiting  for  the  time 
of  her  removal  to  her  permanent  resting  place.  The  funeral  cere- 
monies began  at  noon,  when  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  conducted 
services  in  the  chapel,  where  the  Queen's  body  lay.  Over  the 
coffin  was  thrown  the  coronation  robe  worn  by  the  girl  Queen,  and 
on  this  was  placed  the  royal  regalia,  wand,  sceptre,  and  crown, 
which  were  scarcely  ever  used  by  the  Queen  in  her  lifetime.  Soon 
after  one  o'clock  a  gun-carriage  drawn  by  six  horses  approached  the 
house,  accompanied  by  men  wearing  the  blue  uniforms  and  yellow- 
braided  jackets  of  the  Royal  Horse  Artillery.  The  carriage  was 
halted  at  the  door  of  Osborne  House.  A  group  of  the  blue-jackets 
from  the  Queen's  favorite  yacht,  Alberta,  stood  behind  the  artillery- 
men. 

THE    CORTEGE    FROM    OSBORNE 

The  Queen's  Highlanders,  wearing  short  blue  jackets  with  sil- 
ver buttons,  the  royal  Stuart  tartan  and  kilts  and  white  horsehair 
sporrans,  entered  the  royal  doorway  at  1.20  o'clock,  and  ten 
minutes  later  from  within  the  house,  through  the  glass  porch,  the 
cloaked  coffin  was  borne  into  the  sunlight  and  placed  at  rest  on  the 
gun  carriage.  Then,  bareheaded,  came  the  Queen's  male  de- 
scendants. King  Edward,  Emperor  William  and  the  Duke  of 
Connaught  formed  the  first  row.  The  King  and  the  Kaiser  wore 
the  uniforms  of  British  admirals  and  the  Duke  of  Connaught  that 
of  a  British  general. 


£    B 


I  o 

-  a 


:  co 

:"   "fl 

*    O 


PLANTING  THE  COMMEMORATION   TREE 

On  her  arrival  at  Buckingham  Palace,  Monday,  May  28,  1897.     Her  Majesty  planted  a  tree  in  the 
palace  grounds  to  commemorate  her  reign  of  sixty  years 


THE  IMPOSING  FUNERAL  501 

The  spectacle  of  two  great  monarchs,  followed  by  the  women 
of  their  families  and  the  noblest  princes  of  Europe  walking  silently 
along  the  country  road  behind  the  bier,  blazing  with  precious  stones, 
will  live  long  in  the  memory  of  those  who  saw  it.  But  to  those 
of  our  readers  who  have  not  witnessed  such  a  spectacle  the  descrip- 
tions given  us  by  the  gifted  men  and  women  whose  business  it  was 
to  see  and  report  these  last  hours,  will  be  a  helpful  and  an  interest- 
ing story.  In  their  own  way  we  shall  largely  let  them  tell  it.  The 
head  of  the  procession  emerged  from  the  royal  entrance  to  Osborne, 
the  scarlet  bands  rousing  the  country  echoes  with  the  grand  strains 
of  the  funeral  marches.  The  crowds  massed  behind  the  solid  lines 
of  troops  first  showed  admiration  and  then  a  keen  realization  of  the 
cause  of  the  ceremony. 

The  pathos  of  the  thought  inspired  lost  nothing  by  the  scrutiny 
of  the  King.  His  features  were  seared  and  bore  the  mark  of  grief. 
But  in  all  that  assemblage  there  will  ever  stand  out  one  face — that 
of  the  German  Emperor.  Its  tanned,  almost  olive,  contours  were 
turned  fiercely  toward  the  sun,  and  it  was  apparent  that  the 
Emperor  was  undergoing  a  mental  strain. 

A    TRULY    PATHETIC    SIGHT 

Hardly  was  there  time  to  recognize  the  individuality  of  these 
personages  before  the  most  truly  pathetic  sight  of  the  day  came 
into  view.  It  was  a  simple  little  band  in  black,  for  all  the  world 
like  the  sisters  of  some  religious  order  mourning  humbly  for  one  of 
their  number  who  had  passed  away.  None  were  distinguishable 
from  the  others.  They  all  wore  plain  black  dresses,  with  long  crape 
veils,  and  they  followed  meekly  and  with  downcast  heads.  Yet, 
the  first  was  the  Queen  of  England,  and  with  her  was  the  woman 
who,  if  she  lives,  will  also  hold  the  proud  title. 

Immediately  behind  the  Queen  and  the  Princesses  came  the 
heads  of  the  household,  in  strange,  gaudy  uniforms  seldom  seen  in 
public.  There  have  been  more  magnificent  pageants  than  this  we 
describe,  but  never  has  there  been  witnessed  a  procession  more 


502  THE  IMPOSING  FUNERAL 

remarkable  in   its    combination    of  pomp  and    splendor  with    grief 
and  humility. 

The  coffin,  carried  by  sailors,  was  preceded  by  pipers,  and  was 
covered  with  the  royal  robes  and  regalia.  The  procession  marched 
slowly  down  the  winding  cedar-hedged  path  until  the  gate  was 
reached,  where  the  glittering  military  escort  was  met,  and  the  cor- 
tege pursued  its  sluggish  way  in  the  midst  of  intense  silence,  save 
the  music  of  the  bands. 

As  the  khaki-colored  gun  carriage,  followed  by  the  King,  with 
the  Emperor  of  Germany  and  the  Duke  of  Connaught  on  his  right 
and  left,  passed  down  the  hill,  all  hats  were  doffed. 

The  pipers  had  followed  the  first  dirge  by  the  touching  lament, 
"The  Flowers  of  the  Forest,"  which  represents  the  withering  of 
the  last  and  best  of  them.  As  they  reached  the  Queen's  gate  and 
wailed  their  closing  strain,  the  muffled  drums  rolled  out  with  oft- 
recurring  rhythmic  beats,  and  the  massed  bands  burst  forth  into 
the  magnificent  music  of  Chopin's  "  Funeral  March."  Off  went 
every  hat,  every  woman  curtsied  low,  the  troops  reversed  arms  and 
leaned  their  bended  heads  over  them,  still  as  statues,  pictures  of 
unutterable  woe. 

The  landing  quay  was  surrounded  by  hundreds  of  boats  as  the 
procession  approached.  Eight  bronzed  and  bearded  tars  were 
drawn  up  ready  to  receive  their  burden.  Then  came  the  grenadiers, 
resplendent  in  their  busbies  and  scarlet,  and  quickly  formed  a  circle 
around  the  court.  A  second  later  the  King  and  the  Emperor  and 
their  suites  appeared.  As  the  carriage  stopped  before  the  gangway 
of  the  Alberta,  loud  orders  rang  out,  a  sharp  movement  ran  through 
the  stalwart  line  of  grenadiers,  their  arms  were  instantly  reversed  up 
to  their  hats,  and,  with  equal  precision,  came  the  hands  of  the 
Emperor,  King  and  the  Duke  of  Connaught  in  courteous  salute. 

With  perfect  precision  the  coffin  was  lifted  off  the  gun  car- 
riage and  carried  on  board  the  yacht.  Once  more  the  grenadiers 
came  to  the  "present,"  as  the  King,  followed  by  his  relatives, 


THE  IMPOSING  FUNERAL  503 

stepped  down  the  gangway,  and  the  regalia  and  robes  were  replaced 
on  the  coffin. 

The  King  boarded  a  steam  launch  and  went  off  to  the  royal 
yacht  Victoria  and  Albert.  Shortly  afterwards  the  other  mourn- 
ers boarded  the  royal  yachts,  and  the  Alberta,  with  her  solemn 
burden,  moved  away  from  the  pier,  and  passed  the  ships  which  lay 
waiting  in  the  sunlit  Solent. 

THE    IMPOSING    LINES    OF    WARSHIPS 

Meanwhile,  at  Portsmouth,  where  the  cortege  was  to  land,  an 
immense  throng  of  spectators  had  gathered,  who  crowded  thickly 
the  bastions  and  promontories  and  every  point  from  which  a  view 
of  the  sea  could  be  obtained.  Thousands  were  waiting  on  tugs  and 
yachts,  viewing  the  imposing  lines  of  warships  that  stretched  from 
opposite  Southsea  to  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  between  which  the 
Alberta  was  to  make  her  way.  These  small  visiting  craft,  the  glis- 
tening sunshine  and  the  huge  bulwarks  of  the  battleships  in  the 
background,  presented  a  scene  of  surpassing  grandeur. 

The  foreign  ships  attracted  most  of  the  attention  of  the  Eng- 
lish spectators.  Giant  of  the  whole  fleet  was  the  Japanese  battle- 
ship Hatsuse,  the  largest  war-machine  afloat.  Emperor  William's 
navy  was  represented  by  the  Nymphe,  Victoria  Luise,  Hagen  and 
Baden,  all  blue-gray  colored  upper  works.  The  Hagen  was  flying 
Prince  Henry  of  Prussia's  flag,  yellow  arms  on  a  white  field. 

The  Depuy  de  Lome,  under  France's  tricolor,  was  a  fine  sight. 
Portugal  was  represented  by  the  cruiser  Don  Carlos.  The  Emperor 
Carlos  V.  of  Spain,  had,  through  an  accident  to  her  engine,  been 
forced  to  turn  back  to  port,  and  the  absence  of  any  man-of-war  in 
British  waters  prevented  the  United  States  from  adding  its  quota 
to  the  imposing  spectacle  of  naval  power. 

Shortly  before  3  o'clock  white  smoke  broke  from  the  Majestic  s 
sides,  and  a  second  later  a  report  cracked  over  the  harbor,  and 
echoed  to  the  hill,  announcing  the  starting  of  the  Alberta  from 
Trinity  pier.  From  ship  to  ship  the  salute  was  passed  down  the 


504  THE  IMPOSING  FUNERAL 

line.  Each  vessel  of  the  fleet  was  firing  minute  guns.  They  all 
employed  their  shore  side  batteries,  so  that  on  the  channel  sides 
were  silhouettes  of  hulls,  spars  and  ironwork,  before  backgrounds 
of  dense  gray  smoke.  The  sound  was  that  of  a  great  battle. 

The  band  of  each  ship  took  up  the  funeral  march  as  the 
Alberta  came  abreast  of  her,  and  the  spectators  on  all  the  other 
craft  too'k  off  their  hats.  When  the  Alberta  entered  the  harbor, 
with  the  minute  guns  in  the  forts  sounding  and  the  bells  of  all  the 
churches  of  the  city  tolling,  the  ancient  frigate  Victory  fired  a  salute 
from  muzzle-loaders.  The  marines  manning  her  stood  at  arms. 
The  Admiral's  band  played  a  dirge.  The  escorting  torpedo-boat 
destroyers  drew  ahead  and  steamed  to  their  berths,  and  the  Alberta 
was  moored  in  Clarence  Yards  and  a  guard  of  a  hundred  marines 
marched  on  board.  During  the  night  the  bier  rested  on  the  quar- 
ter-deck, which  was  lighted  with  electricity,  while  chief  among  the 
officers  aboard  was  Vice-Admiral  Seymour,  who  recently  played  a 
distinguished  part  in  the  China  campaign. 

ENTERING    LONDON 

At  9  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  February  2d,  the  coffin  of 
Britain's  Queen  was  carried  on  shore  under  a  naval  and  military 
guard,  and  placed  in  the  special  royal  train  by  which  she  had  often 
traveled  in  her  journeys  from  Windsor  to  the  coast  and  which 
we  have  described  in  another  chapter.  The  engine  and  car- 
riages were  heavily  draped,  and  so  also  were  the  special  trains 
conveying  the  members  of  the  royal  households.  Half  an  hour 
elapsed  before  the  kings,  princes  and  princesses  who  had  slept 
on  board  the  royal  and  imperial  yachts  were  in  their  places  in  the 
train,  and  the  last  tributes  of  respect  and  the  military  and  naval 
honors  were  completed.  The  trains  moved  off  as  the  distant  guns  of 
the  fleet  and  forfes  were  booming.  Their  passage  was  watched  all  the 
way  from  the  coast  by  silent  throngs  at  the  stations  along  the  line. 

After  1 1  o'clock,  the  engine,  draped  in  purple  and  white,  and 
displaying  a  large  metallic  crown,  steamed  into  Victoria  Station, 


THE  IMPOSING  FUNERAL  505 

and  drew  up  beside  a  platform  carpeted  with  purple  cloth,  on  which 
a  large  waiting-room  with  purple  hangings  had  been  erected  for  the 
convenience  of  the  royal  mourners.  A  gun  carriage  was  opposite 
the  funeral  car ;  horses  for  the  Kings  and  Princes  and  carriages  for 
Queen  Alexandra  and  the  Princesses  were  not  far  away,  and  two 
hundred  Foot  Guards  were  posted  in  the  station  as  a  guard  of 
'honor,  with  a  mounted  escort  of  nearly  a  hundred  Life  Guards  in 
the  outer  courtyard.  The  public  had  been  excluded  for  a  full 
hour  from  the  inclosure  of  Victoria  Station,  and  all  approaches  to 
it  and  Buckingham  Palace  Road  were  in  possession  of  military  forces. 

The  route  of  the  funeral  cortege  was  about  three  miles  long, 
leading  from  Victoria  Station,  by  Buckingham  Palace  Road,  across 
St.  James'  Park  to  Pall  Mall,  thence  by  St.  James'  Street  and  Pic- 
cadilly to  Hyde  Park  Corner  and  the  Marble  Arch,  and  finally  by 
Edgeware  Road  to  Paddington  Station.  It  was  lined  all  the  way 
by  regulars  and  volunteers,  with  mounted  forces  at  every  street 
crossing,  and  with  special  guards. of  honor  at  railway  stations  and 
Buckingham  and  St.  James'  Palaces.  About  twenty-five  thousand 
troops  were  employed  in  guarding  the  route  from  an  early  hour  in 
the  morning. 

The  gray  dawn  of  a  London  morning,  with  the  sky  draped 
with  fleecy  clouds,  proclaimed  ideal  conditions  for  the  funeral  day 
of  England's  Queen.  The  calm  serenity  of  the  atmosphere  was 
reflected  by  the  crowds  which  at  daylight  began  to  assemble  at 
every  point  of  vantage  along  the  route  of  the  royal  obsequies.  So 
soft,  peaceful  and  noiseless  was  the  progress  of  the  ingathering 
hosts  that  the  constantly  swelling  throngs  and  the  tread  of  the 
assembling  troops  seemed  to  accentuate  the  solemn  stillness. 

The  scenes  were  unlike  those  of  many  spectacular  days  which 
London  has  witnessed  in  the  past.  The  crowds  which  so  early 
gathered  in  the  streets  evinced  an  entire  lack  of  feverish  unrest 
and  excitement.  The  great  masses  of  police  which  assembled, 
phantom-like  in  the  grayness  of  the  morning,  seemed  more  apolo- 
getically to  tiptoe  to  their  allotted  stations,  as  though  their  presence 

28 


5o6  THE  IMPOSING  FUNERAL 

reflected  on  the  solemnity  dominating  everything.  Never  did  a 
concourse  of  people  so  little  need  either  civil  or  military  guidance. 
No  man  standing  by  his  mother's  bier  ever  needed  admonition  less 
than  did  these  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men  and  women,  gathered 
from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom  on  the  funeral  route  of  their  mother, 
the  Queen. 

In  the  great  green  spaces  of  Hyde  Park,  St.  James  and  others, 
long  black  lines  stood  silhouetted  against  the  morning  sky,  solemn, 
silent  and  picturesque,  staunchly  stemming  the  onrush  of  that  end- 
less flood  of  people  pouring  in  from  every  street  and  avenue.  Pur- 
ple was  the  tone  of  the  royal  mourning,  and  this  seemed  almost  a 
relief,  contrasted  with  these  silent  masses  of  black-garbed  crowds. 
It  was  the  true  note,  after  all,  of  the  day's  ceremonial,  for  no  one 
among  England's  heart-stricken  people  could  look  upon  the  finished 
life  of  their  Queen  with  feelings  of  entire  gloom.  The  procession, 
apart  from  the  gun  carriage  bearing  the  coffin  and  the  royal  family 
and  official  mourners  about  it,  was  not  noteworthy.  Parliament, 
the  judiciary  and  the  commercial  bodies  were  not  represented. 
Royalty,  the  army  and  navy  monopolized  the  pageant.  Three 
thousand  soldiers  and  sailors,  picked  companies  representing  all 
branches  of  the  service,  cavalry,  artillery,  infantry,  yeomanry, 
militia,  volunteers  and  colonials,  formed  the  advance  escort.  They 
marched  slowly  and  without  music.  Most  of  the  uniforms  were 
covered  with  dark  overcoats  and  the  standards  were  draped  with 
black,  the  officers  wearing  bands  of  crape  on  their  sleeves.  The 
infantry  marched  in  columns  of  four,  with  rifles  reversed.  They 
were  half  an  hour  in  passing.  Then  came  Field  Marshal  Earl 
Roberts  and  his  staff,  and,  after  them,  four  massed  bands  playing 
funeral  marches.  Three  hundred  musicians  announced  the  coining 
of  the  body  of  the  Queen.  There  was  a  long  array  of  Court  offi- 
cials, under  the  leadership  of  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  (the  Earl  Mar- 
shal), all  attired  quaintly  and  brilliantly,  bearing  maces  or  wands, 
most  of  them  elderly  men  who  for  years  had  served  the  royal  lady 
for  whom  they  were  performing  the  last  offices. 


THE  IMPOSING  FUNERAL  507 

Most  of  the  spectators  expected  an  imposing  catafalque,  but 
the  coffin  was  almost  past  before  they  recognized  its  presence  by 
removing  their  hats.  It  was  a  pathetically  small  oblong  block  con- 
cealed beneath  a  rich  pall  of  white  satin,  on  the  corners  of  which 
gleamed  the  royal  arms.  Across  the  pall  the  royal  standard  was 
draped,  and  a  large  crown  of  gold,  encrusted  with  jewels,  rested  at 
the  head  of  the  coffin,  which  was  at  the  end  of  the  gun  carriage, 
just  over  the  gun.  On  the  foot  of  the  coffin  were  two  smaller 
crowns  with  a  gold,  jeweled  sceptre  lying  between  them.  The  eight 
cream-colored  horses  which  drew  the  gun  carriage  were  almost  con- 
cealed beneath  their  rich  harnesses.  A  large  bow  of  purple  was 
attached  to  the  coffin.  This  was  the  only  symbol  of  mourning. 

THE    SIMPLICITY    OF    THE    DRAPERY 

Around  the  coffin  walked  the  stalwart  bearers,  non-commis- 
sioned officers  of  the  guards  and  household  cavalry,  and  on  either 
side  were  the  Queen's  equerries,  lords-in-waiting  and  physicians. 
All  the  uniforms  were  covered  with  long,  dark  cloaks.  The  spec- 
tacle was  so  quickly  past  that  the  spectators  hardly  realized  it  or 
had  time  to  bare  their  heads  and  comprehend  the  details,  when  a 
group  of  magnificently-attired  horsemen,  with  sparkling  helmets  and 
coats,  mounted  on  beautiful  chargers,  was  before  them. 

Immediately  after  the  company  about  the  coffin  three  royal 
mourners  rode  abreast.  King  Edward  VII.  was  the  central  figure 
of  the  three,  but  no  less  ostentatious  personage  was  seen  in  the 
procession.  A  black  chapeau  with  a  plume  of  white  feathers  was 
on  his  head  and  a  long  black  cloak  was  buttoned  around  him  and 
hung  down  over  the  big  black  horse  which  he  was  riding.  The 
King's  familiar  face  seemed  grave  and  careworn.  He  looked 
straight  ahead,  apparently  at  the  gun  carriage  on  which  was  the 
body  of  the  Sovereign  whose  glory  and  responsibilities  he  had 
inherited. 

Beside  King  Edward  rode  Emperor  William,  his  nephew 
and  neighbor.  The  unique,  commanding  figure  of  the  German 


5o8  THE  IMPOSING  FUNERAL 

Emperor  could  not  for  a  moment  be  mistaken.  He  looked  every 
inch  a  soldier  and  the  commander  of  men.  He  glanced  right  and 
left  as  he  rode,  and  his  hand  was  frequently  raised  to  the  red  and 
white  feathers  hanging  over  his  hat  as  he  responded  to  salutes. 
He  wore  a  black  cloak  over  his  new  British  Field  Marshal's  uniform, 
and  the  splendid  white  charger  beneath  him  pranced  up  and  down, 
giving  him  an  opportunity  to  display  his  fine  horsemanship.  On  the 
King's  left  rode  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  Connaught,  a  man  of 
soldierly  appearance,  but  almost  unnoticed  and  unrecognized  by  the 
people.  Behind  the  three  chief  mourners  were  their  equerries  and 
mounted  aids,  with  the  Duke  of  Portland  as  Master  of  the  Horse 
and  the  Silverstick,  in  full  uniform.  Following  close  were  forty 
sovereigns,  heirs  to  thrones  and  Princes  of  English,  German  and 
Continental  lines,  all  mounted  and  in  military  uniform.  Prominent 
among  them  were  the  olive-skinned,  dark-eyed  King  of  Portugal, 
with  a  luxuriant,  curled  moustache  and  a  sharp-featured,  angular 
face  ;  the  King  of  Greece,  prematurely  bald  ;  the  Crown  Prince  of 
Denmark,  with  close  resemblance  to  his  uncle  from  Athens ;  the 
Crown  Prince  of  Sweden,  with  eye-glasses,  waxed  mustache,  and 
the  face  of  a  student ;  the  boyish  Duke  of  Aosta,  hardly  at  home 
on  a  horse  ;  the  Archduke  Franz- Ferdinand  of  Austria-Hungary  ; 
the  Grand  Duke  Michael,  with  typical  Russian  features  ;  Prince 
Henry  of  Prussia,  tall  and  manly,  and  the  Crown  Princes  of 
Roumania,  Germany,  Greece  and  Siam. 

The  funeral  cortege  reached  Paddington  at  about  i  o'clock, 
and  the  military  section  passed  rapidly  out  by  the  cab-exit  without 
checking  the  movement  of  the  Queen's  bodyguard  and  the  royal 
mourners.  The  officers  of  the  Guards  and  the  Household  Cavalry 
carried  the  coffin  to  the  train,  and  the  Kings,  Princes,  Princesses  and 
Court  ladies  were  escorted  to  the  railway  compartments.  There 
was  carpeting  the  entire  length  of  the  platform,  and  the  whole  north 
wall  was  draped  with  scarlet  and  festooned  with  white  and  purple 
hangings.  The  train  was  delayed  until  1.30,  and  did  not  reach 
Windsor  until  after  2  o'clock. 


THE  IMPOSING  FUNERAL  509 

Its  arrival  was  announced  by  minute  guns,  and  the  arrange- 
ments carried  out  at  Victoria  Station  were  repeated  at  Windsor, 
with  slight  variation,  apart  from  the  absence  of  the  great  military 
escort.  The  military  guard  of  honor  was  drawn  up  at  present 
arms,  and  the  second  bearer  party  of  officers  of  the  Guards 
removed  the  coffin  from  the  train  and  placed  it  on  a  gun  carriage, 
the  third  used  since  the  closing  scene  at  Osborne. 

ARRIVAL    AT    WINDSOR 

As  the  coffin  was  lifted  by  grenadiers  the  diplomatists  and 
officers  stood  at  the  salute.  Hardly  had  the  coffin  reached  the  gun 
carriage  when  a  dramatic  incident  occurred.  The  order  had  just 
been  given  to  start,  the  muffled  drums  rolled,  and,  to  the  strains  of 
Chopin's  funeral  march,  the  head  of  the  procession  had  actually 
moved  off,  when  it  was  found  impossible  to  induce  the  artillery 
horses  to  move.  They  had  grown  cold  from  long  waiting  in  the 
biting  wind,  became  restive,  and  narrowly  missed  overturning  the 
gun  carriage.  The  distressing  incident  was  brought  to  an  end  by 
Lord  Roberts,  who  asked  the  King's  permission  to  take  out  the 
horses  and  replace  them  by  the  men  of  the  naval  guard  of  honor. 
The  order  "  pile  arms  "  rang  out,  and  the  clean-shaven  smart-look- 
ing handy  men  doubled  to  the  front,  and  evoked  the  admiration  of 
all  by  the  speed  with  which  they  removed  the  refractory  horses, 
improvised  ropes  out  of  the  traces,  and  started  the  gun  carriage 
with  its  precious  burden  toward  the  chapel. 

The  incident  occurred  at  the  spot  where  Roderick  MacLean 
shot  at  the  Queen  in  1882.  The  refractory  horses  only  delayed  the 
procession  fifteen  minutes,  as  by  then  one  hundred  and  thirty  blue- 
jackets had  harnessed  themselves  to  the  gun  carriage  and  the  pro- 
cession moved  on  at  a  sluggish  pace.  The  coffin,  with  the  same 
insignia  surmounting  it  as  in  London,  was  followed  by  an  escort  of 
life  guards;  then  came  the  officials  of  the  Heralds'  College,  Lord 
Roberts,  with  the  headquarters  staff  ,  deputations  from  the  Russian 
regiments,  etc. 


5io  THE  IMPOSING  FUNERAL 

King  Edward,  Emperor  William,  and  the  Duke  of  Connaught 
followed  the  bier  closely.  After  them  walked  the  Princes,  foreign 
representatives,  and  yeomen  of  the  guard,  with  the  military  escort 
bringing  up  the  rear.  The  start  of  the  cortege  was  signalized  by 
minute  salutes  fired  by  guns  posted  on  the  long  walk,  which  were 
continued  until  eighty-one  shots  had  been  fired,  one  for  each  com- 
pleted year  of  the  dead  Queen's  age. 

Without  further  incident  the  procession  moved  into  the  long 
walk,  thence  up  the  sovereign  drive  to  the  grand  quadrangle,  where 
it  passed  beneath  the  dead  Queen's  favorite  rooms,  and  thus  on  to 
St.  George's  Chapel.  So,  with  the  jeweled  crown  and  the  glitter- 
ing orb  of  empire  laid  aside,  the  Queen  had  returned  to  royal 
Windsor. 

ST.  GEORGE'S  CHAPEL 

St.  George's  Chapel  was  a  magnificent  sight,  and  divided  atten- 
tion with  the  officials  and  College  of  Heralds,  gorgeous  in  quaint 
mantles,  tabards,  and  insignia,  and  the  mediaeval-looking  yeomen 
of  the  guard,  carrying  their  halberds  at  slope. 

The  great  east  window  of  the  chapel,  with  its  faint  stained 
figures,  threw  a  soft  light  over  this  burial  and  worshipping  place  of 
kings.  Before  each  oaken  stall  glimmered  the  waxen  taper  that 
burns  when  Knights  of  the  Garter  worship  there.  Above,  their 
heads,  resting  upon  the  carved  sabres  of  the  stalls,  were  the  special 
insignia  of  each  knight,  while  hanging  over  this  were  the  motion- 
less banners  bearing  the  strange  devices  of  the  members  of  this 
most  powerful  order.  On  each  side  of  the  chancel  flamed  two 
rows  of  candles,  causing  the  gold  and  red  of  the  knights  to  glitter. 
In  sombre  contrast  with  these  rows  of  light  and  color  sat  the  long 
line  of  Princesses  and  ladies-in-waiting,  making  a  foreground  of 
deepest  black.  On  the  altar  two  tapers  burned,  and  within  the 
rail  on  each  side  stood  two  large  candelabra. 

The  profusion  of  flowers  which  was  displayed  outside  the 
chapel  ceased  within.  On  the  chancel  only  a  very  few  lilies  and 
the  most  delicate  green  ferns  were  used  for  the  altar  decorations. 


THE  IMPOSING  FUNERAL  511 

At  the  entrance  to  that  grand  Tudor  chapel,  while  bells  were 
tolling  and  minute  guns  were  booming,  the  dean,  prebendaries  and 
choir  waited  for  the  heralds  to  pass  through,  and  then  led  the  way 
through  the  nave  into  the  choir,  where  the  coffin  was  set  down  by 
its  bearers  in  the  centre.  The  King  took  his  place  at  the  head  of 
the  coffin,  with  Lord  Pembroke  and  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  on  either 
side,  and  Lord  Clarendon  at  the  foot  The  German  Emperor, 
Queen  Alexandra  and  eighty  royal  personages  were  assigned  to 
their  proper  places  with  the  inflexible  rigidity  of  Court  etiquette 
as  ordered  since  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  The  foreign  ambas- 
sadors and  envoys  were  in  the  gallery. 

It  was  a  stately  pageant  with  military  uniforms,  decorations 
and  knightly  collars,  with  white  rosettes  all  toned  down  by  black. 
There  were  less  than  a  thousand  witnesses  of  the  burial  service, 
which  followed  without  change  the  regular  burial  office  of  the 
English  Church,  the  anthem  and  hymns  having  a  plain  musical 
setting,  in  accordance  with  the  Queen's  taste.  The  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester and  the  Dean  of  Windsor  read  the  service  as  far  as  the 
commitment  sentences  and  prayers,  these  being  deferred  until  the 
final  services  at  Frogmore. 

AN    OLD    CUSTOM    REVIVED 

When  the  anthem  had  been  sung  there  was  a  last  touch  of 
mediaevalism.  William  Henry  Weldon,  Norroy  King-of-Arms, 
intervened  to  announce  officially  the  termination  of  the  Victorian 
reign.  In  a  clear,  resonant  voice,  ringing  like  a  trumpet  through 
the  historic  chapel,  with  its  memories  of  knights  of  the  Garter  and 
its  traditions  of  the  glory  of  royalty,  he  pronounced,  as  Garter 
King-of-Arms,  the  various  styles  and  titles  of  Queen  Victoria, 
Empress  of  India. 

So  ended  the  stately  obsequies  of  the  good  and  gracious 
Queen,  ruler  of  hearts  in  England,  Europe  and  America,  while 
closely-timed  commemorative  services  were  held  simultaneously  in 


5i2  THE  IMPOSING  FUNERAL 

St.  Paul's,  Westminster  Abbey,  every  English  cathedral  and  thou- 
sands of  places  of  worship  in  London  and  throughout  the  Empire. 

On  Monday,  February  4th,  the  last  honors  to  the  departed 
Queen  were  paid.  The  final  ceremonies  were  of  a  deeply  pathetic 
character.  Shortly  before  3  o'clock,  in  the  presence  of  the  royal 
mourners,  the  Grenadier  Guard  of  Honor  lifted  the  casket  from  its 
temporary  resting-place  in  the  Albert  Memorial  Chapel  and  placed 
it  on  a  gun  carriage.  In  the  meanwhile  the  Queen's  company  of 
grenadiers,  drawn  up  in  the  quadrangle,  presented  arms  and 
wheeled  into  line,  their  rifles  at  the  reverse,  and,  with  slow, 
measured  steps,  marched  towards  the  castle  gate. 

At  the  head  of  the  procession  was  a  band  playing  Chopin's 
funeral  march.  Slowly  the  cortege  passed  under  the  massive  arch- 
way on  to  the  Long  Walk,  which  was  a  mass  of  black,  brilliantly 
edged  with  scarlet.  Life  Guardsmen  kept  the  crowd  back. 

In  place  on  the  gun  carriage  was  the  same  regalia  which  had 
attracted  the  eyes  of  millions  since  the  march  to  the  grave  began 
at  Osborne.  Close  behind  walked  the  King,  Duke  of  Connaught, 
Emperor  William,  and  the  other  royal  mourners,  wearing  dark 
military  overcoats  and  plumed  cocked  hats.  Next  came  Queen 
Alexandra  and  the  Royal  Princesses,  followed  by  several  children 
of  royal  birth.  The  rear  of  the  procession  was  brought  up  by  the 
suites  of  the  Kings  and  Princes,  their  vari-colored  overcoats  form- 
ing a  striking  patch  of  color. 

Down  the  Long  Walk,  with  the  band  still  playing  Chopin's 
dirge,  this  quiet  throng  slowly  made  its  way  to  the  mausoleum. 

From  the  Albert  Memorial  Chapel  to  the  mausoleum,  nearly 
a  mile  from  the  Great  Gate  of  the  castle,  there  is  a  steep  slope  of 
500  yards,  at  the  bottom  of  which  is  the  lodge-gate  and  a  fence. 
On  the  castle  side  of  this  were  hundreds  of  ticket-holders.  On  the 
other  side,  where  the  Long  Walk  commenced,  the  public  was  massed. 

At  the  lodge-gates  the  strains  of  the  band  died  away,  and  the 
pipers  commenced  their  lament.  There,  between  the  broad  avenue 
of  trees,  the  crowds  were  the  thickest,  forming  dense  black  banks. 


THE  IMPOSING  FUNERAL  513 

By  3.30  P.  M.  the  crowned  bier  had  passed  into  the  other  lodge, 
which  leads  to  the  Frogmore  enclosure,  where  none  but  the  family 
and  servants  were  admitted.  Dismounted  Life  Guardsmen,  in 
their  scarlet  cloaks,  the  white  plumes  of  their  helmets  glistening  in 
the  sun,  kept  the  route  clear  from  the  castle  slope.  Amid  the  bare 
boughs  of  trees  below  the  mist  arose  from  the  damp  earth,  trampled 
into  mud  by  the  waiting  multitude.  The  air  was  sharp  and  cold. 

LAID    TO    REST    IN    FROGMORE 

A  picturesque  touch  of  color  was  added  to  the  scene  as  Sir 
Walter  Parratt,  principal  organist  to  the  late  Queen,  and  organist 
of  St.  George's  Chapel  Royal,  Windsor,  and  his  choir,  all  in  sur- 
plices and  college  caps,  walked  quickly  down  the  slope,  through 
the  crowds  to  the  mausoleum.  Then  minute  guns  commenced  to 
boom,  as  a  battery  of  artillery  at  the  foot  of  the  Long  Walk  paid 
its  final  honors  to  the  dead  Queen.  The  Windsor  church  bells 
tolled  solemnly,  and  the  strains  of  the  band,  gradually  growing 
stronger  and  stronger,  echoed  from  the  castle  quadrangle. 

The  coffin  was  borne  from  the  gun  carriage  by  the  Queen's 
Grenadiers,  the  pipers  ceased  their  dirge,  and  the  choir,  moving 
forward,  commenced  to  sing,  "  Yet  Though  I  Walk  Through  the 
Valley  Before." 

The  inside  of  the  mausoleum  being  reached,  they  sang,  "  Man 
That's  Born  of  Woman,"  while  the  royal  family  took  their  places 
around  the  coffin.  The  dome  of  Victoria's  tomb  re-echoed  with 
the  sad  strains  of  "  Lord,  Thou  Knowest." 

The  choir  sang  Sir  Arthur  Sullivan's  anthem,  "Yea,  Though 
I  Walk,"  the  hymn,  "  Sleep  Thy  Last  Sleep,"  and  Tennyson's 
"  The  Face  of  Death  is  Turned  Towards  the  Sun  of  Light,"  set  to 
music  by  Sir  Walter  Parratt. 

The  Bishop  of  Winchester,  standing  on  the  platform  surround- 
ing the  marble  figure  of  the  Prince  Consort,  on  which  rested  the 
Queen's  coffin,  read  the  committal  prayer  and  the  Lord's  Prayer. 
Then  the  choir  sang  <l  Sleep  Thy  Last  Sleep,"  the  Dean  said  thq 


514  THE  IMPOSING  FUNERAL 

collect,  the  choir  broke  forth  into  the  anthem,  "  The  Face  of  Death 
is  Turned  Toward  the  Sun  of  Light,"  and,  with  hands  stretched  over 
the  congregation,  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  pronounced  the  Bene- 
diction. 

A  short,  solemn  silence  followed,  broken  by  the  sweet  cadence 
of  Stainer's  "Amen,"  and  then  King  Edward  and  Emperor  Will- 
iam, the  visiting  Kings  and  the  Princes  and  the  Queen  and  the 
Princesses  filed  before  the  bier  and  passed  out  to  their  carriages. 

The  solemn  ceremony  was  at  an  end.  Victoria,  so  long  Sove- 
reign Queen  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  was  gathered  to  her 
fathers  in  the  tomb  prepared  beforehand  for  her.  It  was  built 
from  designs  suggested  by  herself  and  under  her  own  supervision. 
The  burial-place  of  the  British  sovereigns  is  in  the  famous  chapel 
of  St.  George,  within  the  castle  walls  at  Windsor,  which  was  built 
by  Cardinal  Wolsey,  and  is  considered  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
examples  of  ecclesiastical  architecture  in  the  world.  But  Victoria 
would  not  permit  the  remains  of  her  beloved  consort  to  be  placed 
in  the  gloomy  crypt.  She  insisted  upon  building  for  them  a 
mausoleum  upon  her  own  private  property,  within  the  grounds  of 
Frogmore  House,  which  adjoin  those  of  Windsor  Castle.  Its  stately 
dome  is  ever  within  sight  of  the  windows  of  the  apartments  she 
always  occupied  in  the  castle.  It  is  a  simple  but  beautiful  structure 
of  colored  marble,  mosaic  and  bronze,  and  is  intended  for  the 
remains  of  only  two  persons — her  late  husband  and  herself.  The 
body  of  Prince  Albert  has  been  lying  there  for  many  years  with  a 
beautiful  sarcophagus  beside  it  that  awaited  her  mortal  remains. 

The  epitaph,  composed  by  the  Queen  herself,  is  simply  this  : 

"  Victoria- Albert . 

Here  at  last  I  shall 
Rest  with  thee ; 

With  thee  in  Christ 
Shall  rise  again." 


CHAPTER   XXX 

Memorial    Tributes 

IT  is  fitting  that  we  should  give  here  a  few  of  the  many  noble 
tributes  to  the  great  Queen  which  have  been  uttered  by  the 
men   and  women  who  knew  her  best  and  were  in  sympathy 
with  the  noble  ideals  of  public  and  private  conduct  which  distin- 
guished her  long  life. 

First  come  the  garlands  of   her  two  Poets  Laureate,  Alfred 
Tennyson  and  Alfred  Austin. 

Go  tbe  (Slueen. 


The  following  beautiful  tribute  to  the  Queen  was  written  by  Alfred  Tennyson,  the  late  Poet  Laureate, 
and  prefixed  as  a  dedication  of  a  volume  of  his  poems,  March,  1851. 


Revered,  beloved — Oh,  you  that  hold 

A  nobler  office  upon  earth 

Than  arms,  or  power  of  brain,  or  birth, 
Could  give  the  warrior  kings  of  old. 

Victoria — since  your  Royal  grace 

To  one  of  less  desert  allows 

This  laurel  greener  from  the  brows 
Of  him  that  utter'd  nothing  base ; 

And  should  your  greatness  and  the  care 
That  yokes  with  empire  yield  you  time 
To  make  demand  of  modern  rhyme, 

If  aught  of  ancient  worth  be  there  ; 

515 


516  MEMORIAL  TRIBUTES 

Then — while  a  sweeter  music  wakes, 
And  thro'  wild  March  the  throstle  calls, 
Where  all  about  your  palace  walls, 

The  sunlit  almond  blossom  shakes — 

Take,  Madam,  this  poor  book  of  song  ; 
For  tho'  the  faults  were  thick  as  dust 
In  vacant  chambers,  I  could  trust 

Your  kindness.     May  you  rule  us  long 

And  leave  us  fulers  of  your  blood 
As  noble  till  the  latest  day  ! 
May  children  of  our  children  say, 

"  She  wrought  her  people  lasting  good 

"  Her  Court  was  pure  ;  her  life  serene  ; 

God  gave  her  peace  ;  her  land  reposed ; 

A  thousand  claims  to  reverence  closed 
In  her  as  Mother,  Wife  and  Queen  ; 

"  And  statesmen  at  her  council  met 
Who  knew  the  seasons  when  to  take 
Occasion  by  the  hand,  and  make 

The  bounds  of  freedom  wider  yet 

"  By  shaping  some  august  decree, 
Which  kept  her  throne  unshaken  still, 
Broad  based  upon  her  people's  will, 

And  compass'd  by  the  inviolate  sea." 


A  FACSIMILE  OF  THE  QUEEN'S  SIGNATURE 


MEMORIAL   TRIB  UTES  BY  NO  TED  MEN  5 1 7 

The  following  beautiful  lines  were  written  by  England's  living 
poet  laureate.  Alfred  Austin,  since  the  death  of  the  Queen,  and 
are  well  worth  preserving  among  other  noble  tributes : 


"IDfctoria." 

BY  ALFRED  AUSTIN,  POET  LAUREATE,  igoi. 

Dead  !  and  the  world  feels  widowed  ! 

Can  it  be 

That  she  who  scarce  but  yesterday  upheld 
The  dome  of  Empire,  so  the  twain  seemed  one, 
Whose  goodness  shone  and  radiated  round 
The  circle  of  her  still  expanding  Rule, 
Whose  Scepter  was  self-sacrifice,  whose  Throne 
Only  a  loftier  height  from  which  to  scan 
The  purpose  of  her  People,  their  desires, 
Thoughts,  hopes,  fears,  needs,  joys,  sorrows,  sadnesses, 
Their  strength  in  weal,  their  comforter  in  woe — 
That  this  her  mortal  habitation  should 
Lie  cold  and  tenantless  !  Alas  !  Alas  ! 
Too  often  Life  has  to  be  taught  by  Death 
The  meaning  and  the  pricelessness  of  Love, 
Not  understood  till  lost.     But  she — but  she, 
Was  loved  as  Monarch  ne'er  was  loved  before, 
From  girlhood  unto  womanhood,  and  grew, 
Fresh  as  the  leaf,  and  fragrant  as  the  flower. 
In  grace  and  comeliness  until  the  day 
Of  happy  nuptial,  glad  maternity, 
More  closely  wedded  to  her  People's  heart 
By  each  fresh  tie  that  knitted  her  to  him 
Whose  one  sole  thought  was  how  she  still  might  be 
Helpmate  to  England  ;  England  then,  scarce  more, 
Or  bounded  by  the  name  of  British  Realm, 
But  by  some  native  virtue  broadening  out 
Into  an  Empire  wider  than  all  names, 
Till,  like  some  thousand-years  out-branching  oak, 
Its  mildness  overshadowed  half  the  globe 
With  peaceful  arms  and  hospitable  leaves. 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTES  BY  NOTED  MEN 

But  there  came  to  her  an  hour, 

When  nor  Scepter,  Throne,  nor  Power, 

Children's  love  nor  nation's  grief, 

Brought  oblivion  or  relief, 

When  the  Consort  at  her  side, 

Worthiest  mentor,  wisest  guide, 

Was  by  Heaven's  divine  decree 

From  her  days  withdrawn,  and  she 

As  dethroned  by  her  distress, 

Veiled  her  widowed  loneliness  ; 

And,  though  longing  still  to  hear 

Voice  so  reverenced  and  dear, 

All  her  People  understood 
•  Sacredness  of  widowhood. 

Then  when  she  came  amongst  them  yet  once  more, 
She  came  in  Autumn  radiance,  Summer  gone, 
Leaf  still  on  branch,  but  fruit  upon  the  bough, 
Fruit  of  long  years  and  ripe  experience, 
A  shade  of  grave  bereavement  on  her  brow, 
Withal  more  wise,  more  pitiful,  tender  more 
To  others'  anguish  and  necessities, 
More  loved,  more  reverenced,  even  than  before  ; 
Till  not  alone  the  dwellers  in  her  Isle, 
But  the  adventurous  manhood  of  its  loins, 
In  far-off  seas  and  virgin  Continents 
They  won  and  wedded  to  domestic  laws     . 
And  home's  well-ordered  household  sanctities, 
Hailed  her  as  Mother  of  the  Mother  Land, 
Queen,  Empress,  more  than  Empress  or  than  Queen, 
The  Lady  of  the  World,  on  high  enthroned 
By  right  divine  of  duties  well  fulfilled, 
To  be  the  pattern  to  all  queens,  all  kings, 
All  women,  and  the  consciences  of  men 
Who  look  on  duty  as  man's  only  right. 
Nor  yet  alone  to  those  empowered  to  be 
The  subjects  of  her  scepter,  proud  to  pray, 
"  God  save  our  Empress-Queen  Victoria  !  " 
But  those,  our  kinsmen  oversea,  that  cling, 
With  no  less  pride,  to  kingless  government, 
Honored  and  loved  her,  hailed  her  Queen  of  Queens, 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTES  BY  NOTED  MEN  5*9 

Peerless  among  all  women  in  the  world. 

And  long  and  late  this  happy  season  wore, 

This  mellow  gracious  Autumn  of  her  days, 

This  sweet  grave  Indian  Summer,  till  we  grew 

To  deem  it  limitless,  and  half  forgot 

Mortality's  decree.     And  now  there  falls 

A  sudden  sadness  on  our  lives,  and  we 

Can  only  bow  disconsolate  heads  and  weep, 

And  look  out  from  our  lonely  hearths  and  see 

The  homeless  drifting  of  the  Winter  mist, 

And  hear  the  requiem  of  the  Winter  wind. 

But  from  that  Otherwhere  man's  Faith  and  Hope 

And  mortal  need  for  immortality 

Invisibly  conceive,  I  seem  to  hear 

A  well-remembered  voice,  august  and  mild, 

Rebuking  our  despondency,  arid  thus 

Bidding  us  face  the  Future,  as  she  faced 

Anguish  and  loss,  sorrow  of  life  and  death, 

The  tearful  sadness  at  the  heart  of  things  : 

"  Dry  your  tears,  and  cease  to  weep. 

Dead  I  am  not,  no,  asleep, 

And  asleep  but  to  your  seeing, 

Lifted  to  that  land  of  Being 

Lying  on  life's  other  shore, 

Wakeful  now  for  evermore. 

Looking  thence  I  still  will  be, 

So  that  you  forget  not  me, 

All  that,  more  than,  I  was  there, 

Weighted  with  my  crown  of  care. 

Over  you  I  still  will  reign, 

Still  will  comfort  and  sustain, 

Through  all  welfare,  through  all  ill, 

You  shall  be  my  Beople  still. 

I  have  left  you,  of  my  race, 

Sons  of  wisdom,  wives  of  grace, 

Who  again  have  offspring,  reared 

To  revere  and  be  revered, 

Those  on  mighty  Thrones,  and  these 

Doomed  thereto  when  Heaven  decrees^ 


520  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTES  BY  NOTED 

Chief  amongst  them  all  is  one, 
Well  you  know  my  first-born  son, 
Best  and  tenderest  son  to  me, 
Heir  of  my  authority. 
He  through  all  my  lonelier  years 
Tempered  with  his  smile  my  tears, 
And  was,  in  my  widowed  want, 
Comforter  and  confidant. 
Therefore,  trustful,  steadfast,  brave, 
Give  him  what  to  me  you  gave, 
Who  am  watching  from  above — 
Reverence,  Loyalty,  and  Love  ! 
And  these  gifts  he  back  will  give 
Long  as  he  shall  reign  and  live," 


Victoria  and  Her  Ministers 

BY  LORD  SALISBURY 

Prime  Minister  of  England 

We  who  have  had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  the  close  work- 
ing of  her  character  in  the  discharge  of  our  duty  to  her  take 
this  opportunity  of  testifying  to  the  great  admiration  which  she 
inspired  and  the  great  force  which  her  distinguished  character 
^exercised  over  all  who  came  near  her.  The  position  of  a  constitu- 
tional sovereign  is  not  an  easy  one.  Duties  have  to  be  reconciled 
which  sometimes  feel  far  apart ;  that  may  have  to  be  accepted  which 
may  not  always  be  pleasing  to  accept,  but  she  showed  wonderful 
power  "of  observing  with  the  most  absolute  strictness  the  limits 
Imposed  by  the  Constitution,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  of  maintaining 
,a  steady  and  persistent  influence  on  the  action  of  her  ministers  and 
the  course  of  legislation — an  influence  which  none  could  mistake. 

o 

She  was  able  to  accept  some  things  which,  perhaps,  she  did  not 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTES  BY  NOTED  MEN  521 

entirely  approve,  but  which  she  thought  it  her  duty  in  her  position  to 
accept.  She  always  maintained  and  practised  a  rigorous  supervision 
over  public  affairs,  giving  her  ministers  the  privilege  of  her  advice  and 
warning  them  of  dangers,  if  she  saw  dangers  ahead.  She  certainly 
impressed  many  of  us  with  a  profound  sense  of  her  penetration, 
almost  intuition,  with  which  she  saw  the  perils  with  which  we  were 
threatened  and  the  course  it  was  expedient  to  pursue.  She  left  on 
my  mind  that  it  was  always  dangerous  to  take  any  step  of  any 
great  importance  of  the  wisdom  of  which  she  was  not  thoroughly 
convinced.  Without  going  into  details,  I  may  say  with  confidence 
that  no  minister  during  her  long  reign  ever  disregarded  her  advice 
or  pressed  her  to  disregard  it  without  always  feeling  that  he  had 
incurred  a  dangerous  responsibility  and  frequently  running  into 
danger.  She  had  an  extraordinary  knowledge  of  what  her  people 
would  think,  so  much  so  that  I  have  said  for  years  that  I  always 
thought  when  I  knew  what  the  Queen  thought  I  knew  pretty  cer- 
tainly what  her  subjects  would  think,  especially  the  middle  classes. 
She  had  extraordinary  penetration,  yet  she  never  adhered  to  her 
own  conception  obstinately.  On  the  contrary,  she  was  full  of  con- 
cession and  consideration.  She  spared  no  effort,  I  might  also  say 
that  she  shrank  from  no  sacrifice,  to  make  the  task  of  conducting 
this  difficult  government  easier  to  her  advisers  than  might  otherwise 
have  been. 

His  Majesty  indeed  comes  upon  the  throne  with  great  advan- 
tages. He  has  before  him  the  greatest  example  he  could  have 
to  follow.  He  has  been  familiar  with  our  political  and  social  life 
for  more  than  one  generation.  He  enjoys  universal  and  enormous 
popularity,  and  is  loved  in  foreign  countries  and  courts  almost 
as  much  as  she  was  beloved.  He  has  profound  knowledge  of  the 
working  of  our  Constitution  and  conduct  of  our  affairs,  that  provision 
and  security  against  mistakes  that  few  subjects  have.  We  may 
tender  him  allegiance  with  the  hope  that  he  will  adorn  the  throne  to 
which  he  has  been  called,  the  worthy  successor  of  the  most  illustrious 

sovereign  that  ever  adorned  the  throne  of  England. 
29 


522  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTES  BY  NOTED  MEN 

The  First  of  All  Sovereigns 

BY  A.  J.  BALFOUR 

Distinguished  English  Statesman  and  Author 

The  reign  of  Queen  Victoria  is  no  mere  chronological  landmark. 
It  is  no  mere  convenient  division  of  time  useful  for  the  historian  or 
the  chronicler.  We  feel  as  we  do  feel  because  we  were  intimately 
associated  with  the  personality  of  Queen  Victoria  during  the  suc- 
cession of  the  great  events  which  filled  her  reign,  and  during  the 
development  of  the  empire  wherever  she  has  ruled,  and  in  so 
associating  her  personality  with  these  events  surely  we  do  well. 

The  importance  of  the  Constitution,  in  my  judgment,  is  not  a 
diminishing,  but  an  increasing,  factor.  It  is  increasing  and  must 
increase  with  all  the  growth  and  development  of  those  free,  self- 
governing  communities — those  new  commonwealths  beyond  the  seas 
which  are  bound  to  us  by  the  person  of  the  sovereign,  who  is  the 
leading  symbol  of  the  unity  of  the  empire. 

But  it  is  not  given  to  a  constitutional  monarch  to  signalize 
his  reign  by  any  great  isolated  action.  The  effect  of  a  constitutional 
sovereign,  great  as  it  is,  is  produced  by  the  slow  and  constant  cumu- 
lative result  of  a  great  ideal  and  a  great  example.  As  to  that  great 
ideal  and  example,  surely  Victoria  is  the  first  of  all  constitutional 
monarchs  the  world  has  yet  seen. 


One  of  the  Noblest  Women 

BY  SIR  WILFRID  LAURIER 

Premier  of  Canada 

We,  British  subjects  of  all  races  and  origins  in  all  parts  of  the 
world,  were  inspired  by  sentiments  of  exalted  and  chivalrous  devo- 
tion to  the  person  of  her  Most  Gracious  Majesty.  This  devotion 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTES  BY  NOTED  MEN  523 

was  not  the  result  of  any  maudlin  sentimentality,  but  it  sprang  from 
the  fact  that  the  Queen,  the  sovereign  of  the  many  lands  which 
constitute  the  British  empire,  was  one  of  the  noblest  women  that 
ever  lived — certainly  the  best  sovereign  that  England  ever  had  and 
the  best  that  probably  ever  lived  in  any  land. 

We  know  that  the  present  war  in  South  Africa  was  particu- 
larly painful  to  her  Majesty.  She  had  hoped  that  the  closing  years 
of  her  long  and  prosperous  reign  would  not  be  saddened  by  such  a 
spectacle,  but  it  was  not  in  the  decrees  of  Providence  that  this  hope 
and  wish  should  be  gratified. 

We  had  hoped  that  when  the  end  of  this  long  and  glorious 
reign  came  it  would  close  upon  a  united  empire,  wherein  peace  and 
good  will  should  prevail  among  all  men.  Let  us  still  hope  that  this 
happy  consummation  may  not  be  long  delayed. 


BY  BENJAMIN  HARRISON 

Ex-PresiJent  of  the  United  States 


No  other  death  could  have  excited  so  general  a  sorrow. 
There  are  persons  in  every  nation  other  than  Great  Britain  whose 
death  would  more  profoundly  move  the  people  of  that  nation,  but 
Queen  Victoria's  death  will  bring  real  sadness  to  the  hearts  of  more 
men  and  women  than  any  other.  The  drum-beat  did  not  define  her 
dominions  ;  the  Union  Jack  was  not  the  symbol  of  her  large  empire. 
More  hearts  pulsated  with  love  for  her,  and  more  knees  bowed 
before  her  queenly  personality  than  before  the  Queen  of  Great 
Britain.  "God  Save  the  Queen  "  had  become  a  well-nigh  universal 
anthem.  Heredity  does  not  stay  our  quest  for  the  real  man  or 
woman  upon  whose  head  a  crown  has  fallen.  Indeed,  that  has  come 
to  be  the  way  of  the  world.  The  sovereign  whose  life  is  not  clean, 


524  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTES  BY  NOTED  MEN 

noble,  sympathetic ;  whose  personal  character  is  below  the  best 
thought  of  his  people,  is  not  loved,  and  the  powers  of  an  unloved 
king  or  queen  are  shorn,  however  the  law  may  run.  Queen  Vic- 
toria's power  was  larger  than  the  law. 

I  do  not  care  to  speculate  as  to  the  effect  of  the  Queen's  death 
upon  European  politics  further  than  to  say  that  a  mighty  influence 
on  the  side  of  peace  has  been  lost.  The  British  people  will  find  it 
hard  to  adjust  their  minds  and  hearts  to  a  succession.  There  will 
be  a  disposition  to  make  the  pause  unusually  long  after  the  first 
member  of  the  proclamation,  "The  Queen  is  dead,"  but  the  other 
member  will  follow,  and  "Long  live  the  King"  will  be  spoken 
resolutely  by  Britons  everywhere. 

The  new  sovereign  will  be  loyally  supported  in  his  constitu- 
tional prerogatives,  and  will  not  be  denied  that  opportunity  to  win 
the  dominion  over  the  hearts  of  his  people  which  they  yielded  to  his 
mother. 


A  Deep  Student  of  Politics 

BY  THE  RIGHT  REVEREND  HENRY  C.  POTTER 

Bishop  of  New  York 

By  the  passing  of  Queen  Victoria  the  British  empire  has  lost 
its  greatest  upbuilding  force  and  the  strongest  bond  that  held  it 
together ;  our  country  has  lost  one  of  its  truest,  most  intelligent, 
and  most  powerful  friends  ;  and  the  world  at  large  has  lost  one  of 
its  greatest  and  best  women. 

Nothing  could  be  further  from  the  truth  than  the  belief  that 
Victoria  was  a  mere  figure-head — the  puppet  of  ministers.  She  was 
a  woman  of  fine  natural  understanding,  to  begin  with,  immensely 
industrious,  much  given  to  studying  things  out  for  herself,  a  deep 
student  of  politics  at  home  and  abroad,  and  ready  to  take  the  initia- 
tive for  whatever  she  thought  right. 


THE  QUEEN'S  STATE  COACH 


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li 


CO    a 
Q  '^ 


O    go 
W3? 


c  -^ 

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a  — 
6  £^ 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTES  BY  NOTED  MEN  527 

The  influence  which  her  personality  has  had  in  the  building 
and  consolidating  of  the  British  empire  and  the  furtherance  of  civili- 
zation throughout  the  globe  has  not,  I  feel  assured,  been  estimated 
at  its  full  value.  Nothing  so  impressed  me  in  India,  Ceylon,  Burma, 
and  the  British  Colonies  in  China  as  the  love  of  the  people  for  the 
Queen.  I  do  not  mean  among  the  British  resident  in  those  countries  : 
I  mean  among  the  natives.  Those  oriental  peoples  are  much  more 
intelligent  than  we  of  the  Occident  generally  credit  them  with  being. 
They  read,  study,  think,  and  draw  their  own  conclusions.  Their 
deep  affection  for  the  Queen  could  not  fail  to  strike  any  one  who 
entered  their  houses,  saw  her  pictures  in  the  honored  places  there, 
and  heard  them  speak  of  her.  One  of  the  mightiest  sources  of 
Great  Britain's  power  among  these  peoples  lay  in  this  absolute  faith 
that  on  the  throne  of  the  empire  was  one  who  possessed  all  the  vir- 
tues of  a  good  woman, — wise,  loving,  kind,  compassionate,  merci- 
ful,— who  would  protect  the  weak,  who  would  right  the  wrong,  who 
would  prevent  injustice.  They  had  a  great  sense  of  pride  in  her. 

The  good  heart  of  the  Queen  was  especially  shown  in  her 
compassion  and  benevolent  activity  at  any  time  of  distress,  through 
fire,  famine,  shipwreck,  or  the  sword.  Her  interest  and  her  aid, 
which  extended  all  over  the  world  and  to  the  most  obscure,  were 
purely  personal,  and  not  at  all  due  to  her  surroundings. 

At  the  time  when  Garfield  was  stricken  by  an  assassin  this 
sympathetic  quality  in  her  was  especially  shown  in  the  many  tele- 
grams and  messages  she  sent.  She  shared  with  us  the  shock  and 
grief,  and  stood  in  spirit  at  the  bedside  of  our  dying  President. 

Her  career  teaches  the  world  the  lesson  that  the  power  of  a 
ruler  does  not  proceed  entirely  from  or  depend  entirely  upon  intel- 
lectual force,  but  that  the  humane  qualities  have  a  wonderful  strength 
of  their  own. 


528  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTES  BY  NOTED  MEN 

Her  Throne  Near  to  God 

BY  REV.  T.  DE  WITT  TALMAGE 

From  the  June  morning  in  1837,  when  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  addressed  the  embarrassed  and  weeping  and  almost 
affrighted  Victoria  of  eighteen  years  with  the  startling  words,  "  Your 
Majesty,"  until  the  day  of  her  death  the  prayer  of  all  good  people 
on  all  sides  of  the  seas,  whether  that  prayer  was  offered  by  the 
three  hundred  million  of  her  subjects,  or  the  larger  number  of  mil- 
lions \vho  were  not  her  subjects  ;  whether  that  prayer  was  solemn- 
ized in  church  or  rolled  from  great  orchestras,  or  poured  forth  by 
military  bands  from  forts  and  batthements,  and  in  front  of  triumph- 
ant armies  all  around  the  world,  has  been  "God  Save  the  Queen." 

While  Queen  Victoria  has  been  the  friend  of  all  art,  all  litera- 
ture, all  science,  all  invention,  all  reform,  her  reign  will  be  most 
remembered  for  all  time  and  all  eternity  as  the  reign  of  Christianity. 

Beginning  with  that  scene  at  5  o'clock  in  the  morning  in 
Kensington  Palace,  where  she  asked  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
to  pray  for  her,  and  they  knelt  down  imploring  Divine  guidance, 
until  her  last  hour,  not  only  in  the  sublime  liturgy  of  her  established 
church,  but  on  all  occasions,  she  has  directly  or  indirectly  declared, 
"  I  believe  in  God  the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth, 
and  in  Jesus  Christ,  His  only  begotten  Son." 

The  mightiest  champion  of  Christianity  for  sixty-three  years 
was  the  throne  of  England.  The  Queen's  book,  so  much  criticized 
at  the  time  of  its  appearance,  some  saying  it  was  not  skilfully  done, 
and  some  saying  that  the  private  affairs  of  a  household  ought  not  so 
to  have  been  exposed,  was  a  book  of  vast  usefulness,  from  the  fact 
that  it  showed  that  God  was  acknowledged  in  all  her  life,  and  that 

o 

"Rock  of  Ages"  was  not  an  unusual  song  in  Windsor  Castle. 

Was  there  ever  an  explosion  of  fire-damp  in  Sheffield  or 
Wales  and  her  telegram  was  not  the  first  to  arrive  with  help  and 
Christian  sympathy  ?  Was  President  Garfield  dying  at  Long 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTES  BY  NOTED  MEN  529 

Branch,  and  did  not  the  cable  under  the  sea,  reaching  to  Balmoral- 
Castle,  keep  busy  in  announcing  the  symptoms  of  the  sufferer  ? 

I  believe  that  no  throne  since  the  throne  of  David  and  the 
throne  of  Hezekiah  and  the  throne  of  Esther  has  been  in  such  con- 
stant touch  with  the  throne  of  heaven  as  the  throne  of  Victoria. 

From  what  I  know  of  her  habits  she  read  the  Bible  more 
than  she  did  Shakespeare.  She  admired  the  hymns  of  Horatio 
Bonar  more  than  she  did  Byron's  "  Corsair."  She  has  not  know- 
ingly admitted  into  her  presence  a  corrupt  man  or  a  dissolute 
woman.  While  some  Queen  may  have  surpassed  the  late  Queen  in 
learning,  and  another  in  attractiveness  of  feature,  and  another  in 
gracefulness  of  form,  and  another  in  romance  of  history,  Victoria 
surpassed  them  all  in  nobility  and  grandeur  and  thoroughness  of 
character. 


A  Beneficent  Power  for  Peace 

BY  SENATOR  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

Queen  Victoria  had  the  rare  distinction  at  the  close  of  her 
long  reign  of  possessing  the  ardent  love  and  loyalty  of  the  many 
races  of  her  great  empire,  and  the  admiration  and  respect  of  the 
people  of  all  other  nations. 

The  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century  witnesses  the  world 
mourning  for  a  ruler  with  whose  country  many  governments  have 
relations  which  are  far  from  friendly.  This  has  occurred  in  no  other 
era  of  history.  She  so  illustrated  in  one  of  the  loftiest  positions  of 
power  the  noblest  qualities  of  woman,  wife,  and  mother  that  she 
was  revered  in  humble  homes  as  well  as  in  palaces  all  around  the 
globe.  Her  reign  of  sixty-three  years  made  her  cotemporary  with 
the  rise  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  the  development  of  civilization, 
the  intellectual  progress,  the  exploration  of  the  world,  the  inventions 
and  discoveries,  which  lift  the  nineteenth  century  above  all  others, 
and  which  will  be  part  of  the  record  of  her  reign. 


530  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTES  BY  NOTED  MEN 

Unfailing  tact,  sound  common  sense,  and  a  warm  heart  were 
the  qualities  which  made  her  a  great  sovereign.  At  the  time  of  the 
assassination  of  President  Lincoln  and  again  of  President  Garfield 
she  instantly  sent  affectionate  and  sympathetic  cables  to  the  bereaved 
widows,  which  deeply  touched  every  heart  in  our  country. 

She  has  been  the  most  beneficent  power  for  the  peace  of  the 
nations.  Her  influence  has  averted  many  collisions  and  settled 
quarrels  which  might  have  resulted  in  disastrous  wars  or  in  serious 
revolutions  at  home.  Just  what  to  do  and  when  to  do  it  was  with 
her  a  quality  amounting  to  genius. 

When  Parliament  was  in  session  the  Prime  Minister  sent  her 
every  night  after  adjournment  a  summary  of  the  work  of  the  evening. 
Those  of  Gladstone  had  the  formality  of  a  digest,  but  Disraeli  gave 
to  his  reports  that  personal  coloring  of  both  acts  and  actors  which 
delighted  her.  She  was  thus  in  daily  touch  with  Parliament  and 
Cabinet,  and  her  advice  or  suggestion  has  often  saved  a  ministry 
or  minimized  the  mistake  of  a  blundering-  leader. 

<5> 

She  was  always  desirous  of  maintaining  the  most  cordial  rela- 
tions with  the  United  States,  and  our  country  has  never  had  among 
the  sovereigns  of  Europe  such  an  unwavering  friend. 


An  Ever  Memorable  Reign 

BY  CARDINAL  GIBBONS 

The  death  of  Queen  Victoria  sends  a  thrill  of  sorrow  through- 
out the  world,  not  only  because  of  the  almost  universal  diffusion  of 
the  British  empire,  but  still  more  because  of  the  domestic  virtues  of 
the  woman  whose  long  and  eventful  reign  will  ever  be  memorable 
in  the  annals  of  England,  and  whose  character  will  command  the 
love  of  her  subjects  and  the  admiration  of  the  civilized  world, 


The    Queen — A    Canadian    Tribute 


BY  J.  CASTELL  HOPKINS,  F.S.S. 

Author  of  "  History  of  Canada,"  "  Life  of  Sir  John  Thompson,"  etc.,  etc. 


THROUGH  all  the  stages  in  the  life  of  the  oldest  native  of 
our  Canadian  soil,  the  Queen  has  ruled  over  his  country 
and  reigned  in  his  heart.  Her  name  has  become  synony- 
mous with  the  majestic  position  and  place  in  the  world  of  those 
little  islands  to  which  British  people  everywhere  look  back  with 
pride  and  affection.  It  has  become  an  emblem  of  the  highest  and 
purest  home  life  and  domestic  love  known  to  humanity  during  the 
past  century.  It  has,  with  an  ever-increasing  environment  of  splen- 
dor, been  for  sixty-four  years  the  embodiment  of  British  power 
and  Imperial  growth,  It  has  become  the  living  centre  of  a  loyalty 
which  has  grown  with  the  years  in  youthful  countries  all  around  the 
globe,  and  strengthened  with  the  span  of  men's  lives  in  every 
clime  and  under  every  condition.  It  has  developed  an  Imperial- 
ism which  is  destined  to  make  the  British  realm  one  in  unity  and 
power  and  continued  progress,  wherever  flies  the  flag  of  a  British 
Sovereign.  It  has,  in  the  United  Kingdom  and  the  self-governing 
Colonies,  combined  popular  liberty  with  personal  loyalty,  incor- 
porated democracy  with  monarchy  and  made  the  Crown  an  effec- 
tive pledge  of  national  stability. 

The  creation  of  such  a  name  and  fame  has  been  a  noble  ser- 
vice to  the  world  as  well  as  to  the  Empire  of  which  Queen  Vic- 
toria was  the  head.  How  it  developed  is  a  part  of  the  history  of 
a  great  era ;  part  of  the  life  of  every  statesman  who  led  in  the 
government  of  Britain  or  India,  Canada,  Australia,  or  South 

531 


532  A  CANADIAN  TRIBUTE 

Africa ;  part  of  the  literature,  the  public  life,  the  social  system,  the 
religions  expansion,  the  Imperial  growth,  of  that  prolonged  period. 
It  is  high  praise  to  say  of  the  Queen  that  she  was  a  good  woman. 
Through  being  so  she  gave  her  people  the  example  of  a  model 
mother,  a  loving  wife,  a  devoted  widow,  and  the  privilege  of  a  pure 
Court  and  firm-set  antagonism  to  all  looseness  in  the  marriage  tie 
and  in  social  morals.  But  she  was  much  more  than  a  good  woman. 
British  statesmen  knew  something  of  her  influence  upon  the  policy 
of  the  country,  her  deep  and  intimate  knowledge  of  its  affairs,  her 
wise  counsel  and  strong  opinions.  For  over  six  decades  Prime 
Ministers  and  Cabinets  have  come  and  gone,  politicians  have  risen 
to  the  surface  of  affairs  or  fallen  in  the  attempt,  Governors  have 
gone  out  from  the  centre  of  administration  to  all  parts  of  the 
world  in  a  long  procession  of  varied  character,  rulers  have  suc- 
ceeded each  other  upon  the  thrones  of  Europe  and  the  East,  or 
in  the  fleeting  seats  of  republican  power.  Yet  through  all  these 
passing  changes  the  Queen  has  reigned  and  come  into  more  or  less 
close  personal  contact  with  the  passing  phantoms  of  popular  rule. 

Through  having  the  continued  confidence  and  regard  of  all 
her  Ministers,  she  has  had  the  best  and  highest  counsel  which 
could  be  given  by  such  men  as  Wellington  and  Peel  ancj  Graham 
and  Russell,  Sidney  Herbert  and  Derby  and  Gladstone  and  Bea- 
consfield,  Clarendon  and  Iddesleigh  and  Rosebery  and  Salisbury. 
Wherever  she  may  have  been  staying  during  all  these  years— 
whether  at  Osborne,  or  Balmoral,  or  Windsor,  or  upon  the  Conti- 
nent,— she  has  always  had  a  Minister  in  constant  attendance,  and 
been  in  continuous  touch  by  courier  or  telegraph  with  the  Govern- 
ment at  Downing  Street.  All  despatches  of  importance  have  had 
to  be  submitted  to  her  careful  consideration,  and  Lord  Palmerston, 
in  the  early  "  fifties,"  suffered  dismissal  from  the  Foreign  Secretary- 
ship for  occasionally  disregarding  this  essential  condition.  States- 
men, however,  did  not  stand  alone  around  her  throne  and  person. 
At  her  Court  have  gathered  men  and  women  of  fame  and  force  in 
every  department  of  national  life — heads  of  the  Churches,  experts 


.A  CANADIAN  TRIBUTE  533 

in  science  and  philosophy,-  men  of  the  world,  women  of  noble  aim 
and  ideal  leaders  of  art  and  literature,  travelers  from  every  land 
and  clime,  soldiers  and  sailors  of  renown.  Of  experience  and 
knowledge  they  have  given  her  their  best,  and  in  return  she 
has  been  able  to  offer  her  statesmen  and  advisers  the  garnered 
wisdom  of  growing  years,  the  treasured  patriotism  of  a  mind  far 
above  party  or  political  bias,  the  influence  of  unselfish  aspirations 
for  the  good  of  her  people. 

Upon  the  actual  government  of  the  United  Kingdom  the 
Queen  has  wielded  a  greater  power  than  is  generally  known.  Con- 
stitutional it  always  was,  and  the  explanation  of  its  undoubted  force 
is  easily  found  in  the  strength  of  her  own  personality.  Here  and 
there  in  the  biographical  or  autobiographical  literature  of  the 
reign — despite  the  fact  that  no  letter  from  the  Sovereign  can  be 
published  without  her  permission  and  the  occasional  repetition  of 
such  incidents  as  the  burning  by  Sir  Robert  Peel  of  his  correspond- 
ence with  Her  Majesty  in  order  to  avoid  the  barest  possibility  of 
its  falling  into  wrong  hands — documents  have  crept  into  print,  let- 
ters have  seen  the  light  written  by  statesmen  to  one  another,  com- 
ments have  appeared  by  men  who  knew  of  what  they  were  speak- 
ing, which  combine  to  illustrate  the  power  she  has  really  wielded. 
Martin's  "  Life  of  the  Prince  Consort "  shows  her  intervention  in 
several  important  matters  ;  Archbishop  Tait's  "  Memoirs  "  give  the 
particulars  of  her  statesmanlike  action  in  the  Irish  Disestablish- 
ment Crisis.  Wherever  the  Royal  influence  appears  it  seems  to 
have  been  exercised  with  tact  and  discrimination. 

In  foreign  politics  her  power  was  freely  exercised,  and  in  later 
years  was  so  absolutely  undisputed  that  a  British  leader  who  had 
held  the  post  of  Foreign  Secretary  told  the  writer  that  in  matters 
of  foreign  policy  "  the  Queen  advised  her  Ministers  more  than 
they  advised  her."  Certain  historical  incidents  in  this  connection  are 
well  established.  In  1844  her  intimate  relations  with  King  Louis 
Philippe  of  France  and  his  wife  averted  an  otherwise  imminent 
.  The  friendship  which  grew  up  with  the  Emperor  Napoleon  III, 


534  A  CANADIAN  TRIBUTE 

had  much  to  do  with  the  alliance  between  France  and  Eng- 
land in  the  Crimea.  Yet,  in  spite  of  those  personal  relations, 
Her  Majesty's  published  correspondence  with  Lord  Palmerston  in 
the  stormy  years  of  i859~'6o  show  that  she  several  times  prevented 
England  from  becoming  an  instrument  of  French  ambitions  in 
Italy  and  Austria.  Her  position  in  the  Schleswig-Holstein  ques- 
tion was  not  quite  the  popular  one,  and  Lord  Malmesbury,  who 
was  then  Foreign  Secretary,  declares  in  his  "  Diary "  that  the 
Queen  "  would  not  hear  of  going  to  war  with  Germany,"  and  that 
ultimately  she  carried  her  Cabinet  with  her  in  the  policy  of  non- 
intervention which  finally  developed.  During  the  Trent  affair  with 
the  United  States  she  compelled  a  modification  of  her  Ministry's 
strong  attitude,  and  practically  averted  war ;  during  the  whole  of 
the  American  Civil  War  her  sympathies  were  with  the  North,  and 
the  tremendous  pressure  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  in  favor  of 
joint  intervention — favored  as  it  was  by  the  bulk  of  her  own  Cabi- 
net— was  ultimately  overcome  through  her  personal  influence  with 
her  Ministers.  Upon  later  events  history  is  as  yet  silent,  and  must 
be  for  years  to  come  ;  but  Lord  Beaconsfield  has  declared  that  the 
Queen's  signature  was  "never  placed  to  any  public  document  of 
which  she  did  not  approve,"  and  that  "there  is  no  despatch  from 
abroad,  nor  any  sent  from  the  country,  which  is  not  submitted  to 
her."  It  is,  therefore,  evident,  even  without  a  knowledge  of  her 
exact  participation  in  matters  of  recent  import,  that  the  share  taken, 
and  the  influence  of  opinions  expressed  by  her,  must  have  been 
very  great. 

In  the  policy  which  looks  for  closer  and  more  intimate  rela- 
tions between  the  various  countries  of  the  Empire  the  Queen  has 
been  the  pivot,  and  loyalty  to  her  throne  the  key-note.  Face  to 
face  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  reign  with  a  school  of  political 
thought — represented  by  men  like  Bright  and  Cobden  and  Moles- 
worth  and  Cornewall  Lewis,  and  in  lesser  degree  of  importance, 
by  Goldwin  Smith — which  looked  upon  Colonies  as  encumber- 
ances  and  cosmopolitan  commerce  as  the  god  of  its  idolatry,  she 


THE  CORONATION  CHAIR 

Containing  the  Stone  of  Scone  on  which  the  Irish  Kings,  Scotch  Kings 
and  British  Kings  have  been  crowned. 


A  CANADIAN  TRIBUTE  537 

set  herself  to  make  the  throne  a  rallying-point  ot  the  opposite  sen- 
timent and,  in  time,  succeeded  in  her  aim  to  such  a  degree  that 
during  the  last  years  of  the  reign  there  was  practically  only  one 
principle  prevalent  throughout  the  English-speaking  portion  of  the 
Empire — one  of  unity,  loyalty,  and  sympathy.  She  sent  the  Prince 
of  Wales  to  visit  Canada  and  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh  to  visit  the 
Cape  and  Australia  at  a  time  when  the  journey  was  long  and  a 
matter  of  serious  meaning  to  an  anxious  mother.  Her  correspond- 
ence with  Sir  George  Grey,  when  Governor  at  the  Cape  in  the  early 
"  fifties,"  shows  her  sympathy  with  far-seeing  plans  of  local  federa- 
tion which  were  then  possible,  and,  if  carried  out,  would  have  averted 
the  South  African  troubles  of  1880  and  the  evils  of  a  later  time. 
Her  correspondence  with  Lord  Canning  proves  that  changes  which 
she  commanded  in  the  proposed  Royal  proclamation  transferring 
India  from  the  Company  to  the  Crown  prevented  another  mutiny 
or  insurrection,  just  as  her  previous  influence  with  Lord  Panmure, 
Minister  of  War,  at  the  close  of  the  Crimean  struggle,  kept  the 
army  up  to  a  point  at  which  it  was  enabled  to  cope  with  the  sud- 
den strain  of  the  great  Indian  crisis  of  1857.  The  Queen  has,  also, 
during  her  long  reign  been  in  receipt  of  continuous  private  letters 
from  her  Governors  in  all  parts  of  the  world — India,  Canada,  Africa, 
Australia,  Jamaica,  and  many  other  dependencies  or  colonies — and 
her  advice  and  frequent  commands  have  had  a  far  wider  and 
greater  influence  in  moulding  the  destinies  of  the  Empire  than  the 
public  has  any  present  conception  of. 

What  Canada  owes  to  the  Queen  may  be  inferred  in  a  general 
way  from  what  the  Empire  at  large  is  indebted  to  her  life  and  reign. 
In  a  specific  sense,  however,  she  owes  much.  The  Victorian  era 
opened  with  rebellion,  dissatisfaction,  disunion  and  an  utter  absence 
of  Provincial  cohesion  ;  it  closes  with  peace,  contentment,  federal 
unity  and  a  national  loyalty  which  harmoniously  combines  local  and 
Imperial  sentiment.  Around  the  throne  as  a  stable  centre  of 
fealty  and  respect  has  slowly  crystalized  the  feeling  of  a  scattered 
people  until  it  found  gradual  and  indirect  expression  in  the  political 


538  A  CANADIAN  TRIBUTE 

union  of  the  Provinces  by  confederation ;  their  commercial  union 
by  increasing  fiscal  and  railway  legislation  ;  their  financial  credit 
by  following  British  precedent  in  banking  and  trade  principles ; 
their  adherance  to  an  ever-growing  policy  of  unity  with  the  Empire 
in  political  and  mititary  affairs  as  in  sentiment  and  commercial 
matters ;  their  avoidance  of  certain  laxities  and  moral  pit-falls 
which  have  troubled  other  nations.  Into  this  process  of  evolution 
have  come  many  elements  of  Royal  influence  and  personal  action. 
Working  together  with  the  more  general  principles  applicable  to 
other  parts  of  the  Empire  as  well  as  to  the  Dominion,  they  have 
produced  a  condition  where  Canadians  profoundly  believe  in  the 
institution  of  a  limited  monarchy  as  the  only  means  of  preserving 
a  really  dignified  democracy  and  conserving  a  permanent  British 
connection  and  an  all-powerful  Empire.  Under  the  Queen's  rule, 
they  have  developed  a  land  which  is  "rich  in  heart,  in  home,  in 
hope,  in  liberty  "  -and  institutions  which  rest  upon  the  free-will  of 
a  free  people,  and  interpret  the  best  thoughts  and  aspirations  of 
modern  civilization  while  combining  a  wealth  of  historic  tradition  in 
the  old  Mother-land  with  the  impetus  and  freshness  of  heart,  new 
regions  and  rising  nations  all  over  the  world. 

What  the  Empire  as  a  whole  owes  to  the  Queen  and  what  it 
has  become  under  the  Queen  is  a  matter  of  tremendous  import. 
In  territory  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  the  people  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  have  since  the  Queen  came  to  the  throne 
acquired  Natal  and  Bechuanaland,  Basutoland  and  Zululand,  Brit- 
ish New  Guinea  and  North  Borneo,  Sabraon  and  the  most  of 
the  Gold  Coast,  Fiji  and  Cyprus,  the  basin  of  the  Niger  and 
Burmah,  fully  half  of  British  India,  Wei-Hai-Wei  and  Kowloon 
in  China,  a  million  square  miles  in  Central  Africa,  the  Solomon 
Islands  and  many  minor  islands  in  the  Pacific,  the  Orange  Free 
State  and  the  Transvaal,  and  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  Egypt 
and  the  vast  Soudan  region.  There  are  11,000,000  square  miles  of 
more  or  less  cultivated  and  populated  British  territory  in  1901  as 
against  the  wild  wastes  of  British  North  America  and  Australia, 


A  CANADIAN  TRIBUTE  539 

the  sea-fringe  of  civilized  region  at  the  Cape,  the  initiatory 
developments  of  Indian  empire,  in  1837.  There  are  at  least 
420,000,000  of  people  owning  allegiance  to  the  Crown  and  an  Im- 
perial trade  of  more  than  8000  millions  of  dollars.  In  1837  the  trade 
of  Great  Britain  alone  was  $20  per  head  ;  in  1900  it  averaged  $105 
per  head.  The  assets  of  joint  stock  banks  in  the  United  King- 
dom are  now  7,000  millions  while  their  deppsits,  and  those  in  the 
savings  banks,  total  up  to  over  6,000  millions.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century  Great  Britain's  shipping  was  4,000,000 
tons  and  that  of  the  infant  United  States  came  in  a  good  second 
with  1,850,000  tons.  In  1860  the  American  tonnage  exceeded  that 
of  England.  At  the  close  of  the  Queen's  reign  the  British 
Empire  possesses  a  tonnage  of  1 1,000,000  or  nearly  half  the  entire 
tonnage  of  the  world,  which  totals  up  to  25,000,000. 

But  the  greatest  feature  of  the  Queen's  reign  has  not  been 
enlargement  of  the  bounds  of  Empire,  nor  even  the  far-reaching 
expansion  of  commerce  and  wealth.  It  is  to  be  found  in  the  solid 
and  substantial  growth  of  great  communities  owing  allegiance  to 
the  Crown — a  progress  based  upon  British  principles  of  govern- 
ment and  general  polity,  British  freedom  to  do  and  dare  and 
achieve.  Into  the  vast  and  complex  system  of  the  Indian  depend- 
ency have  come  during  that  period  new  countries  and  peoples,  new 
conditions  and  problems,  great  trials  and  disasters.  Yet  nearly 
every  change  has  been  for  the  betterment  of  the  masses  and  where 
change  or  reform  has  been  refused  it  was  through  the  wise 
caution  of  far-seeing  statesmen  administering  the  affairs  of  more 
than  two  hundred  millions  of  human  beings  with  all  their  varied 
civilizations  and  infinite  degrees  of  grievance,  caste  prejudice  and 
religious  hatred.  The  trade  of  the  Indian  Empire  has  grown 
greatly,  the  country  is  gradually  becoming  a  network  of  railways, 
the  colleges  are  filled  with  native  pupils,  the  intelligence  of  the 
upper  classes  is  being  developed  along  Western  lines,  the  tyran- 
nical rule  of  native  Princes  is  held  in  check  and  controlled. 
Through  it  all  runs  a  perceptible  sentiment  of  growing  loyalty. 


540  A  CANADIAN  TRIBUTE 

Since  the  assumption  of  the  East  India  Company's  rights  by  the 
Crown,  and,  still  more,  since  the  initiation  of  the  vivid  appeal  to 
Oriental  imagination  contained  in  the  crowning  of  the  Queen  as 
Empress  of  India,  the  vast  populations  of  that  region  have  more  and 
more  awakened  to  the  existence  of  a  greater  ruler  whom  they  must 
respect  and  whose  laws  they  must  obey — a  being  far-away  in  per- 
son but  ever-present  in  power  and  embodying  virtues  and  authority 
which  constitute  to  ignorant  minds  qualities  of  almost  divine  force. 
The  value  of  this  curious  sentiment  of  Eastern  loyalty  can  only  be 
truly  guaged  by  the  depths  and  heights  of  Oriental  imagination  and 
the  influence  of  a  name  upon  minds  of  primeval  darkness  com- 
bined with  perceptions  of  peculiar  quickness. 

Australia  is  literally  a  creation  of  the  Queen's  reign  while  its 
popular  opinion  is  emphatically  a  product  of  the  Queen's  influence. 
Within  half-a-century  its  Colonies  have  grown  from  a  fringe  of 
population  along  the  sea-shore  into  four  millions  of  rich  and 
prosperous  people  and  developed  into  States  of  a  powerful  federal 
Commonwealth  under  the  British  Crown — enthusiastically  loyal, 
strong,  keenly  ambitious,  aggressively  energetic.  With  a  yearly 
revenue  of  $130,000,000,  an  unfelt  debt  of  over  $800,000,000,  a 
registered  shipping  of  100,000,000  annual  tonnage,  the  possession 
of  10,000,000  cattle  and  80,000,000  sheep,  the  production  of  more 
than  $50,000,000  worth  of  gold  annually,  the  country  has  a  right  to 
be  proud  of  its  progress.  That  progress  its  people  have  made 
themselves — with  the  help  of  British  capital.  But,  for  their  institu- 
tions and  the  curbing  of  a  fierce  democracy,  the  education  of  a 
young  and  aggressive  people  in  the  dignified  principles  of  British 
government,  the  growth  toward  the  Mother-land  instead  of  away 
from  it,  the  later  tendency  toward  Imperialism  which  has  swallowed 
up  in  victory  the  earlier  one  toward  localism  and  independence, 
they  owe  much  to  external  influences  and  the  greatest  of  these  has 
been  the  life,  the  ideals,  the  administration,  the  personality  of  the 
Sovereign.  The  Crown  has  now  become  the  symbol  of  Imperial 
power,  the  centre  of  British  loyalty  all  around  the  world,  and  as 


A  CANADIAN  TRIBUTE  541 

such  it  constitutes  the  motive  power  of  an  Empire's  unity.  With- 
out such  a  life  and  character  as  those  of  Queen  Victoria  it  might, 
however  have  never  attained  that  position  in  far-away  democracies 
and  could  certainly  have  never  reached  its  present  degree  of 
authority.  The  Queen  was  always  in  close  touch  with  the  Austra- 
lian Colonies.  Queensland  by  her  suggestion  was  given  its  name. 
Victoria  received  its  baptism  from  the  Sovereign.  As  the  Colonies 
grew  in  population  and  power  great  functions  were  marked  by  tactful 
royal  messages  and  Governors  came  direct  from  the  presence  of 
the  Queen  to  the  peoples  of  her  far-away  possessions.  Into  their 
hearts  and  lives  she  gradually  grew  and  with  the  influence  of  her 
personality  came  slowly,  and  then  swiftly,  the  spirit  of  a  British 
patriotism  which  incorporated,  instead  of  superceding,  the  dominant 
note  of  Australian  local  pride. 

South  Africa  has  not  been  so  fortunate.  Royal  visits  have 
been  made  at  the  Queen's  command  ;  loyalty  amongst  the  English- 
speaking  settlers  has  developed  under  stress  of  war  to  a  white-heat 
of  emotion  ;  the  Dutch  colonists  have  grown  to  appreciate  the 
goodness  of  their  Sovereign  and,  as  a  whole,  have  abstained  from 
rebellion  during  the  war  which  troubled  the  last  days  of  her  reign. 
How  far  her  influence  made  for  peace  and  territorial  and  constitu- 
tional growth  in  South  Africa  can  be  dimly  seen  from  casual  glimpses 
of  her  policy.  That  she  favored  Grey's  policy  in  earlier  days  has 
been  already  mentioned  ;  that  she  admired  and  trusted  and  endorsed 
Sir  Bartle  Frere  in  the  wise  policy  of  a  later  Confederation,  which 
was  so  unfortunately  balked,  is  pretty  well  established  ;  that  she 
sympathized  with  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes'  great  ambitions  and  proposals 
—without  reference  to  details  such  as  the  Jameson  Raid — is  also 
known.  What  is  not  known,  or  at  least  fully  comprehended,  is  that 
through  all  these  various  changes  in  her  Empire  during  sixty-four 
years,  through  the  growth  of  villages  into  cities,  tiny  settlements 
into  great  States,  vast  areas  of  waste  land  into  noble  provinces, 
fringes  of  population  into  T)ominions  and  Commonwealths,  she  has 
been  more  or  less  an  influence  upon  her  thirty  and  more  Colonial 
30 


542  A  CANADIAN  TRIBUTE 

Secretaries — a  force  for  constitutional  freedom,  for  Imperial  loyalty, 
for  united  and  common-sense  .progress.  Not  always  a  successful 
force,  of  course,  but  always  a  steady,  persistent,  certain  element 
in  the  better  government  and  the  greater  unity  of  her  Empire. 

The  end  of  the  long  reign,  the  close  of  a  noble  life,  the  last 
days  of  a  great  era,  have  now  come.  With  this  tide  in  British 
affairs  has  also  come  an  overwhelming  demonstration  of  love  and 
loyalty,  the  picture  of  a  great  Empire  literally  draped  in  garments 
of  mourning,  the  spectacle  of  a  silent  and  sorrowful  people  from 
London  to  Melbourne,  from  Calcutta  to  Montreal,  from  Capetown 
to  Ceylon,  following  their  Sovereign  to  her  last  resting-place.  Such 
a  scene  has  never  been  witnessed  before  ;  it  can  hardly  be  re-enacted 
within  the  life  of  anyone  now  living.  That  her  example  and  prin- 
ciples will  live  after  her,  goes  without  saying.  The  world  has  been 
better  for  Queen  Victoria,  the  Empire  has  been  greater  and 
stronger,  the  people  have  been  purer  and  wiser,  the  bounds  of  true 
and  guarded  freedom  have  been  made  broader  and  deeper.  Under 
a  son  and  successor  trained  in  her  precepts  and  practices  and  policy 
that  progress  should  be  carried  on  and  the  lamp  that  has  lit  the  Vic- 
torian era  along  paths  of  constitutional  liberty  and  Imperial  unity 
should  be  kept  flaming  with  the  spirit  of  popular  loyalty  and  high 
ideals  of  government. 


CHAPTER    XXXII 

The  Victorian  Era 

IT  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  two  periods  in  British  history  which 
are  specially  distinguished  as  "  eras,"  periods  of  such  leading 

importance  as  to  be  thus  marked  off  from  the  ordinary  course 
of  events,  should  be  the  reigns  of  two  women.  No  such  distinction 
is  given  to  the  reigns  of  any  of  the  men  who  have  occupied  the 
English  throne.  We  read  of  the  Elizabethan  era  and  the  Victorian 
era,  but  not  of  the  eras  of  any  William,  Charles,  George,  Henry, 
or  other  English  sovereign.  What  are  we  to  understand  from 
this  ?  Shall  we  conclude  that  these  two  women  shed  a  lustre  upon 
their  respective  reigns  which  no  man  could  equal  ?  Scarcely  this; 
but  they  had  the  happy  fortune  to  be  born  into  the  most  remark- 
able periods  of  the  history  of  the  British  realm.  Around  the 
throne  of  Elizabeth  gathered  the  noblest  cluster  of  authors  of 
modern  times,  at  their  head  the  prince  of  the  authors  of  all  time, 
Shakespeare  the  sublime.  Around  the  throne  of  Victoria  there 
gathered  not  alone  a  splendid  galaxy  of  men  and  women  of  let- 
ters, but  also  a  brilliant  host  of  inventors,  of  discoverers,  of  scien- 
tists, of  men  distinguished  in  every  field  of  effort  and  intellect, 
giving  her  reign  a  radiant  eminence  whose  lustre  was  reflected  upon 
the  throne  itself.  Intellectually  there  was  nothing  beyond  the  ordi- 
nary in  Queen  Victoria,  but  she  was  born  into  an  extraordinary  age 
and  shared  the  honor  of  her  environment. 

Let  us  quote  here  an  estimate  from  the  London  Times:  "Her 
reign  coincides  very  accurately  with  a  sort  of  second  renaissance 
and  intellectual  movement,  accomplishing  in  a  brief  term  more 
than  had  been  done  in  preceding  centuries.  Since  the  days  of 
Elizabeth  there  has  been  no  such  awakening  of  the  mind  of  the 

543 


544  THE  VICTORIAN  ERA 

nation  and  no  such  remarkable  stride  in  the  path  of  progress,  no 
such  spreading  abroad  of  the  British  race  and  British  rule  over  the 
world  at  large,  as  in  the  period  covered  by  the  reign  whose  end  we 
have  now  to  deplore.  In  art,  in  letters,  in  music,  in  science,  in 
religion,  and,  above  all,  in  the  moral  and  material  advancement  of 
the  mass  of  the  nation,  the  Victorian  age  has  been  a  time  of 
remarkable  activity." 

Various  other  journals  speak  to  the  same  effect,  and  it  may  be 
of  interest  to  offer  some  further  journalistic  summaries.  We  quote 
as  follows  : 

"  The  life  of  Queen  Victoria  spanned  the  most  wonderful 
years  of  the  most  wonderful  century  that  the  world  has  ever  seen. 
Other  sovereigns  have  lived  almost  as  long,  but,  if  measured  by 
achievements  rather  than  by  periods  of  time,  England  itself,  and 
all  the  world  with  it,  moved  farther  along  during  the  eighty-two 
years  of  Victoria's  life  than  during  the  reigns  of  all  the  men  and 
women  who  had  preceded  her  on  the  English  throne. 

CONDITIONS    AT    TIME    OF    HER    BIRTH 

"On  the  day  of  her  birth,  May  24,  1819,  the  first  steamboat 
which  crossed  the  Atlantic  or  any  other  ocean  started  from 
Savannah  to  Liverpool,  making  the  voyage  in  twenty-six  days. 
The  same  distance  is  now  made  in  less  than  six.  She  was  six  years 
of  age  when  the  first  railway-train  in  the  world  started  to  carry 
passengers.  She  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  had  just  ascended 
the  throne,  when  the  Morse  system  of  telegraphy  and  that  of 
Cooke  and  Wheatstone  were  first  patented.  Thirty-nine  years  of 
her  life  had  passed  when  the  first  cable  was  laid  under  the  Atlantic, 
and  that  one  almost  immediately  ceased  to  operate.  Fifty-six  years 
of  it  expired  before  the  first  telephone  went  into  practical  operation. 

"  Scott  and  Byron  wera  in  their  prime  when  Victoria  first 
began  to  read  the  printed  page.  None  of  the  great  writers — 
Thackeray,  Dickens,  Bulwer-Lytton,  Tennyson,  George  Eliot,  the 
Brownings,  and  the  others  whose 'names  have  cast  a  glory  over  her 


THE  FUNERAL  PROCESSION     IN   LONDON 
The  King  and  German  Emperor  entering  Hyde  Park,  at  the  Corner  Entrance 


THE  VICTORIAN  ERA  547 

country  during  the  past  half  or  two-thirds  of  a  century — had  yet 
begun  to  work.  Darwin,  whose  labors  have  revolutionized  science 
and  have  profoundly  affected  the  thought  of  moralists  and  theo- 
logians, was  yet  unheard  of. 

"At  the  time  of  Victoria's  birth  the  tramp  of  Bonaparte's 
armies  had  just  ceased  to  shake  the  world,  and  Bonaparte  himself 
was  a  prisoner  on  a  British  island  in  the  South  Atlantic.  She  saw 
every  throne  in  Europe  vacated  many  times.  She  saw  her  own 
country  transformed  politically  from  an  oligarchy,  in  which  only 
one  out  of  fifty  of  the  population  was  permitted  to  vote,  into  a 
democracy  in  which  the  voters  number  one  out  of  six  of  the  inhabi- 
tants. France  has  changed  its  form  of  government  four  times 
since  her  early  girlhood  days.  Italy,  then  only  a  geographical 
expression,  to  use  Metternich's  phrase,  has  since  become  one  of 
the  great  Powers  of  Europe,  while  the  empire  of  Germany  was 
still  far  in  the  future. 

"  During  the  Victorian  era  the  progress  of  the  English  peo- 
ple was  rapid  and  continuous  ;  the  population  of  the  United  King- 
dom more  than  doubled  ;  London  became  the  centre  of  a  world- 
wide empire  ;  British  sails  whitened  every  sea  ;  there  was  a  marvel- 
ous expansion  of  the  industrial  and  commercial  resources  of  the 
nation  ;  great  strides  were  made  in  material  prosperity,  tolerance  of 
religious  opinion  and  the  diffusion  of  knowledge ;  the  social  con- 
dition of  the  people  was  vastly  improved,  and  a  long  series  of 
landmarks  of  democratic  reform  were  established.  Splendid  as  are 
the  memorials  of  English  power  recorded  by  the  historians  of  the 
Elizabethan  era,  the  Victorian  age  surpassed  them  in  the  substan- 
tial achievements  of  modern  progress.  While  Elizabeth,  with  her 
masculine  force  and  imperious  disposition,  exerted  a  more  pro- 
nounced personal  influence  on  the  course  of  national  history,  Vic- 
toria was  not  less  admirably  adapted  to  the  requirements  and  neces- 
sities of  her  own  age.  When  her  reign  began  personal  govern- 
ment in  England  came  to  an  end.  Not  only  did  her  throne  escape 
the  storm  and  stress  of  revolutionary  change  in  Europe  through 


54S  THE  VICTORIAN  ERA 

her  flexibility  in  adapting  her  ideas  of  sovereign  power  to  consti- 
tutional order  and  Parliamentary  institutions,  but  she  also  exerted 
her  influence  with  true  womanliness,  innate  gentleness  and  marked 
individuality  in  promoting  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  her  sub- 
jects, and  in  dignifying  and  ennobling  the  virtues  and  purity  of 
home  life. 

"The  last  but  one  of  the  most  glorious  events  in  her  domin- 
ion in  which  she  was  able  to  exercise  her  royal  prerogative  was  the 
formal  establishment  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Australia  on  January 
i,  1901.  The  message  of  affectionate  greeting  which  the  aged 
Sovereign  sent  to  this,  the  latest  child  of  Mother  England,  was 
almost  her  last  utterance  from  the  throne,  and  well  and  fitly  com- 
pleted the  roll  of  noble  acts  and  deeds  of  her  long  and  noble  life." 

THE    SUPREME    ERA    IN    ENGLISH    HISTORY 

These  various  opinions  and  brief  reviews  of  a  period  of  wonder- 
ful progress  and  prosperity  justify  us  in  claiming  for  Victoria's 
reign  the  honor  of  being  the  supreme  era  in  English  history.  Bril- 
liant aswras  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  alike  in  intellectual  and  material 
progress,  it  came  in  an  age  of  mediaevalism,  when  war  meant  rapine 
and  sea-rule  meant  piracy,  and  its  lustre  pales  before  that  of  the 
reign  of  Victoria,  when  a  high  civilization  was  gathering  the 
richest  fruits  from  the  tree  of  knowledge ;  when  England  was  feed- 
ing instead  of  robbing  the  world,  and  was  carrying  enlightenment 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth  ;  when  the  common  man  was  becoming 
the  peer  of  the  nobleman  ;  when  human  sympathy  was  replacing 
the  barbarous  inhumanity  of  the  past,  and  when  war  itself  was 
being  conducted  in  the  interest  of  peace,  and  the  sword  was  lifted 
to  break  the  fetters  of  the  slave  or  to  bring  the  savage  races  of  the 
earth  under  the  beneficent  influence  of  modern  enlightenment. 

For  centuries  England  was  actively  engaged  in  building  the 
foundations  of  her  nineteenth  century  empire.  Her  warlike  career, 
her  commercial  enterprise,  her  growing  industrial  activity  were  the 
stages  of  progress  towards  the  wonderful  culmination  which  has 


THE  VICTORIAN  ERA  549 

passed  under  our  own  eyes.  The  first  harvest  in  this  career  of 
development  was  reaped  in  the  age  of  Elizabeth.  From  that  time 
forwards  there  was  not  a  reign  that  did  not  add  its  quota  to  her 
growing  supremacy  ;  but  the  competition  was  keen,  the  develop- 
ment was  slow,  and  it  was  not,  as  we  have  said  in  a  former  chap- 
ter, until  the  French  Revolution,  with  the  succeeding  quarter 
century  of  desperate  conflict,  that  the  supremacy  of  the  British 
Kingdom  became  fully  assured,  and  the  long  tide  of  prosperity 
and  mental  and  material  progress  began  which  shed  its  brightest 
lustre  on  Victoria's  reign. 

When  the  nineteenth  century  opened  there  was  fairly  under 
way  that  stupendous  struggle  with  Napoleon  and  with  France 
under  his  sway  in  which  England  was  the  greatest  factor.  Only 
for  her  sturdy  and  unyielding  hostility  to  the  great  Corsican  con- 
queror he  might  have  subjected  the  whole  of  Europe — as  he  did 
half  that  continent — to  his  sceptre,  and  then,  perhaps,  have  turned 
and  rent  liberty  from  the  British  isles.  This  the  warlike  and 
indomitable  spirit  of  the  islanders  prevented,  and,  finally,  on  the 
famous  field  of  Waterloo,  they  brought  the  mighty  conflict  to  an 
end,  and  rose  to  the  highest  rank  in  the  political  councils  of  the 
European  nations. 

England's  inflexible  persistance  in  this  long  struggle  for  mas- 
tery was  rendered  possible  by  the  dominion  of  the  seas,  which  her 
great  naval  captains  had  given  her.  During  its  course  her  com- 
merce grew  with  tenfold  its  former  rapidity,  her  home  industries 
developed  enormously,  money  flowed  abundantly  into  her  coffers, 
and  was  used  with  lavish  liberality  in  aiding  the  impoverished 
Continental  powers  to  put  armies  in  the  field.  The  contest  ended, 
Napoleon  conquered,  France  subdued,  the  island  kingdom  stood 
ready  to  reap  the  harvest  which  had  been  diligently  planted  and  to 
grasp  that  industrial  supremacy  which  her  ships  and  her  looms 
had  won.  It  was  in  the  early  days  of  this  realization  of  the  fruit 
of  her  long  efforts  that  the  infant  Victoria  was  born — heiress  to  a 
vast  inheritance. 


550  THE   VICTORIAN  ERA 

Eighteen  years  afterwards,  still  only  a  girl,  untrained  in 
royalty's  responsibilities  and  shrinking  from  the  weight  of  the 
crown,  Victoria  came  to  the  throne.  Let  us  glance  rapidly  at  the 
status  of  affairs  on  that  June  day  of  1837,  when  William  died  and 
the  girl  Queen  succeeded  to  Britain's  sovereignty.  During  the 
interval  between  Waterloo  and  the  date  of  her  accession  the  new 
iation  had  been  steadily  and  rapidly  progressing,  alike  in  commerce 
and  manufactures,  in  science  and  literature,  in  art  and  invention, 
in  political  privilege  and  moral  enlightenment.  The  Reform  Bill, 
recently  passed,  had  given  a  voice  in  the  control  of  legislation  to 
hundreds  of  thousands  who  had  been  before  in  a  state  of  political 
serfdom.  A  great  commercial  fleet  was  bringing  the  raw  materials 
of  manufacture  to  England  from  all  parts  of  the  world  and  carry- 
ing the  finished  products  to  lands  in  the  antipodes.  Her  workshops 
were  increasing  in  number  with  surprising  rapidity,  the  rattle  of 
the  loom  and  the  clang  of  the  hammer  were  heard  everywhere 
throughout  the  land,  and  densely  thronged  industrial  cities  were 
rising  where  only  villages  or  empty  wastes  had  existed  before.  Coal 
and  iron  were  being  torn  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth  as  food  for 
the  multitudinous  furnaces  and  factories,  and  over  the  whole  land 
the  clang  of  industry  was  heard. 

CONDITIONS    WHEN    VICTORIA    BECAME     QUEEN 

We  speak  here  in  the  comparative,  not  in  the  superlative. 
Prosperous  as  was  England  in  comparison  with  other  nations  when 
Victoria  became  Queen  its  prosperity  was  but  a  dwarf  compared 
with  the  giant  it  was  to  become  during  her  long  reign.  And  the 
condition  of  the  people  as  revealed  in  the  Chartist  agitation,  their 
lack  of  education,  their  long  hours  of  labor  and  insufficient  wages, 
their  widespread  misery  and  destitution,  formed  a  somewhat  start- 
ling commentary  upon  Britain's  prosperity  as  revealed  to  the  world. 
Capital  flourished  while  labor  suffered,  and  the  palace  and  the 
mansion  stood  in  astounding  contrast  to  the  hovel  and  the  hut, 
which  formed  their  true  foundations.  The  condition  of  the  common 


THE  VICTORIAN  ERA  551 

people  was  the  dark  side  of  England's  coat-of-arms  when  the 
Victorian  era  began.  That  era  was  to  do  much  towards  the  ameli- 
oration of  the  condition  of  the  laboring  millions. 

Let  us  consider  at  more  length  some  of  the  elements  of  advance 
during  that  era.  In  1837  the  population  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland  was  nearly  26,000,000.  In  1901  it  was  41,000,000,  an 
increase  of  some  sixty  per  cent.,  and  far  more  than  the  soil — taken 
up  as  so  much  of  its  most  fertile  portion  was  by  the  parks  and 
hunting  grounds  of  the  nobility — was  competent  to  feed.  Such  a 
population  could  not  have  lived  in  the  British  islands  in  1837,  when 
the  Corn  Laws  kept  out  foreign  food,  and  they  had  only  the 
product  of  their  contracted  farming  lands  to  live  upon.  The  repeal 
of  these  ill-adapted  laws  changed  all  that,  cheap  food  poured  in 
from  a  dozen  distant  countries  and  population  rapidly  increased, 
paying  for  the  food  upon  its  tables  by  the  product  of  its  labor  in 
mine  and  mill,  in  factory  and  shipyard.  To-day  the  United  States 
with  Canada,  Australia  and  outlying  colonies  of  Great  Britain  form 
her  provision  market^  and  with  such  abundant  resources  as  her  colo- 
nies afford  there  is  little  danger  that  she  will  be  driven  to  the 
extremity  of  starvation. 

With  the  Victorian  era  came  the  railroad  and  steamship,  the 
postal  system  and  the  telegraph,  all  of  them  enormously  facilitating 
the  transportation  of  goods  and  the  despatch  of  mercantile  news, 
and  all  of  them  playing  an  important  part  in  the  development  of 
British  prosperity.  The  age  of  invention  had  begun  years  before, 
but  its  results  were  enormously  quickened  by  the  activity  of  manu- 
facture, and  new  machines,  adding  ten-fold  or  a  hundred-fold  to  the 
production  of  man's  hands,  were  of  almost  yearly  appearance,  until 
labor  became  efficient  to  a  degree  that  had  not  even  been  dreamed 
of  in  earlier  times. 

Meanwhile  literature  and  science  were  thriving  as  never  before. 
In  the  Elizabethan  era  the  field  of  intellectual  activity  was  narrow, 
its  most  important  triumphs  being  in  the  drama.  The  great  bulk 
of  the  literature  of  that  age  was  in  the  domain  of  the  imagination, 


552  THE  VICTORIAN  ERA 

Lord  Bacon  being  one  of  the  few  who  ventured  into  a  more  prosaic 
field.  In  the  Victorian  era  literature  widened  its  scope  until  every 
field  of  thought  was  invaded.  Poetry  gave  rise  to  numerous 
shining  lights.  The  kingdom  of  prose  fiction — in  its  infancy  in 
the  earlier  era — now  flourished  with  extraordinary  fertility.  His- 
tory, biography,  theology,  philosophy,  science,  all  found  able 
exponents,  and  the  width  and  fruitfulness  of  intellectual  labor  had 
never  been  surpassed. 

Scientific  observation  was  almost  a  virgin  field  of  thought  and 
study,  and  its  development  during  the  Victorian  era  was  well  nigh 
magical.  Comparatively  little  was  known  of  the  constitution  of 
nature  and  the  marvels  of  the  universe  when  Victoria  was  born.  A 
vast  collection  of  facts  and  a  multitude  of  fertile  deductions  had 
been  made  before  she  died,  while  the  application  of  scientific 
discoveries  to  human  needs  had  gone  far  to  change  the  aspect  of 
the  world  and  widen  the  horizon  of  men's  lives.  It  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  a  man  can  do  more,  see  more,  and  enjoy  more  in  half  a 
century  of  our  time  than  he  could  have  done  in  three  centuries  of 
times  like  those  into  which  Victoria  was  born. 

Let  us  now  briefly  glance  at  what  has  been  effected  in  the 
interest  of  the  common  people  since  the  days  of  the  Chartists  and 
the  Corn  Laws.  One  of  the  most  terrible  evils  of  that  early  time 
was  the  oppression  of  woman  and  child  labor  in  mines  and  factories. 
Rev.  H.  T.  Smart  tells  us  that  "  The  biography  of  George  Smith, 
of  Coalville,  shows  how  much  children  suffered  from  excessive  and 
unsuitable  labor  during  the  earlier  years  of  the  Queen's  reign.  For 
thirteen  hours  a  day  the  child  Smith,  when  he  worked  in  the  brick- 
fields, carried  forty  pounds  weight  of  wet  clay  on-  his  head,  whilst 
young  girls  carried  their  burdens  on  their  abdomens,  being  first 
benumbed  with  the  wet  and  cold,  and  then  half-baked  with  the  heat 
of  the  kiln. 

"  Largely  owing  to  Smith's  labors  children  have  been  emanci- 
pated from  this  form  of  slavery,  a  hundred  and  fifty  protective  mea- 
sures having  been  passed  in  their  interest  during  this  era,  although  we 


THE  VICTORIAN  ERA  553 

still  allow  them  to  commence  work  too  soon,  and  earlier  than  do 
some  not  more  enlightened  nations  than  our  own.  Sailors  have 
been  legally  protected  from  the  coffin-ships  in  which  they  formerly 
risked  and  so  often  lost  their  lives,  and  workmen  have  been  safe- 
guarded from  accidents  with  most  pleasing  results,  especially  in  the 
case  of  miners — fatalities  amongst  whom  have  been  greatly 
diminished. 

"  Municipalities  have  acquired  the  power  to  compel  the  owners 
of  house  property  to  keep  their  dwellings  in  a  sanitary  condition, 
and  in  some  towns  healthy  homes  and  lodging-houses  have  been 
erected,  either  by  local  authorities  or  private  persons.  The  names 
of  Peabody  and  Guinness  will  be  remembered  in  this  connection, 
and  the  cities  of  London,  Glasgow,  Manchester,  and  the  town  of 
Salford  may  be  mentioned  for  the  attention  they  have  paid  to  this 
social  question." 

IMPROVEMENTS    IN    MATERIAL    COMFORTS 

Moreover,  in  recent  years,  public  baths,  gardens,  parks,  open 
spaces,  libraries,  museums,  technical  schools,  art  galleries,  gymnasia, 
and  cheap  workmen's  trains  have  been  provided,  and  thus  in  many 
respects  the  lot  of  the  masses  of  the  people  has  been  alleviated, 
and  their  burdens  and  disabilities  lightened,  while  the  hours  of 
labor  have  been  much  reduced,  the  rates  of  wages  increased,  the 
homes  of  the  working  classes  improved,  and  in  a  thousand  ways 
the  situation  of  the  masses  of  the  people  has  grown  better  and 
their  opportunities  for  comfort  and  enjoyment  have  increased. 

Mr.  George  Howell,  lecturing  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  in  1896, 
made  the  following  statement  concerning  the  ability  to  save  from 
their  wages  of  the  workers  of  Great  Britain  : 

"  People  will,  no  doubt,  be  surprised  to  hear  that  in  five  groups 
of  friendly  societies  the  savings  amount  to  two  hundred  and  fifty 
millions  sterling  (a  sum  equivalent  to  $1,250,000,000).  This  is  a 
striking  contrast  to  sixty  years  ago.  The  people  are  no  longer 
poor.  The  wages  of  skilled  mechanics  sixty  years  ago  ranged  from 


554  THE   VICTORIAN  ERA 

1 8s.  to  245.  ;  now  they  are  getting  405.  to  425.  We  are  beginning 
to  recognize  as  an  economical  fact  that  the  more  we  pay  the  workers 
the  better  it  will  be  for  the  nation.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  condition  of  the  people  has  materially  improved,  and,  looking 
at  the  whole  aspect  of  affairs,  I  can  s'ee  a  steady  progress  which 
has  taken  place  mainly  during  the  Queen's  reign." 

In  fact,  it  may  be  broadly  stated  that  progress  in  the  comforts 
of  domestic  life,  and  the  general  standard  of  living,  has  been  a 
marked  characteristic  of  the  Victorian  era.  The  conditions  of  life 
among  the  working  classes  have  been  modified  in  many  important 
respects  ,  and  there  are  those  who  are  daring  enough  to  say,  with 
some  show  of  reason,  that  there  is  now  more  real  comfort  in  the 
home  of  a  decent,  sober  and  industrious  mechanic  than  a  century 
ago  might  have  been  found  in  some  of  the  most  pretentious  castles 
in  the  land. 

EDUCATIONAL    ADVANCEMENT    DURING    VICTORIA'S    REIGN 

The  progress  has  been  not  alone  in  material  prosperity,  but  in 
the  intelligence  of  the  masses  as  well.  Education,  that  great  lever 
of  enlightenment,  has  been  notably  fostered  since  Victoria  began 
her  reign.  In  1837  there  were  probably  not  above  a  quarter 
of  a  million  of  children  in  all  the  schools  of  the  Kingdom  ;  in 
1849  there  were  only  about  half  a  million  ;  in  1886  there  were  four 
and  a  half  millions,  or  one  in  every  six  of  the  population,  and  the 
proportion  has  since  increased,  while  the  school  life  of  the  child  is 
from  four  to  six  times  longer  than  in  the  past.  In  1837  the  whole 
public  fund  devoted  to  education  was  ,£20,000.  In  1885  it  was 
about  ,£5,500,000,  and  the  good  work  has  since  then  gone  rapidly  on. 
In  1841,  when  attention  was  first  paid  to  such  subjects  in  the 
census,  forty-one  per  cent,  of  persons  married  could  not  sign  their 
names.  To-day  we  would  say  this  of  probably  less  than  ten  per 
cenr. 

A  system  of  national  education  was  first  established  in  1870, 
when  Mr.  Forster's  Education  Act  was  passed.  In  1891  this  was 


THE  FUNERAL  PROCESSION,  AT  WINDSOR 

View  showing  the  bluejackets  drawing  gun-carriage  with  coffin,  after  the  horses  which  had  become 
unmanagable  had  been  detached 


THE   VICTORIAN  ERA  557 

greatly  improved  by  the  Elementary  Education  Act,  extending  free 
education  to  all  children  from  five  to  fourteen  years  of  age  and 
making  attendance  compulsory.  While  it  must  be  said  that  Great 
Britain  lagged  behind  several  other  nations  in  providing  for  free 
education,  it  is  evident  that  vast  progress  has  been  done  in  this 
direction  during  the  Victorian  era,  and  it  may  safely  be  said 
that  there  are  now  a  thousand  readers  to  every  one  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Queen's  rule.  The  300  newspapers  published  in  1837 
have  multiplied  to  9000  in  1901,  while  the  circulation  has  increased 
more  than  a  thousand  fold.  In  1837  the  Times  had  only  20,000 
daily  circulation,  and  this  was  more  than  the  combined  circulation 
of  the  twelve  other  dailies  which  England  then  could  boast. 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  MORALITY  AND  PHILANTHROPY 

While  these  tokens  of  progress  appeal  strongly  to  our  minds, 
the  thoughtful  observer  finds  still  greater  reason  for  gratifica- 
tion in  the  development  of  morality  and  philanthropy  during  the 
Queen's  reign.  Sir  Walter  Besant,  in  a  paper  of  striking  character, 
has  depicted  the  development  of  humanitarian  impulses  and  the 
dawn  of  a  sense  of  pity  for  the  children  of  the  poor.  Beginning 
with  a  few  vivid  glimpses  of  the  heedlessness  to  the  sufferings  of 
others  which  marked  the  world's  earlier  ages,  he  gives  a  view  of 
things  as  they  were  about  the  time  of  the  Queen's  accession  in 
these  graphic  words  :  "  Consider,  well  on  into  this  century  people 
looked  on  with  callous  eyes  while  some  poor  wretch  was  tied  up 
and  flogged  barbarously ;  not  very  long  ago  they  ran  after  the  cart 
when  the  criminal  was  flogged,  laughing  and  shouting,  without  the 
least  feeling  of  pity." 

And  he  goes  on  to  paint  the  low  state  of  public  morals  and 
the  lack  of  human  sympathy  which  were  fostered  by  these  and 
other  open  exhibitions  of  barbarity  in  dealing  with  the  wrong- 
doer, the  frightful  condition  of  the  prisons,  the  outrageous  severity 
of  the  criminal  laws,  the  general  absence  of  altruistic  feeling  and 
humanitarian  sentiment. 


558  THE  VICTORIAN  ERA 

We  cannot  give  here  an  account  of  all  that  has  been  done  for 
the  improvement  of  the  public  health,  for  the  cleanly  and  com- 
fortable housing  of  the  poor,  and  for  causing  the  great  decrease  in 
the  death-rate  from  the  new  attention  to  sanitation.  The  death-rate 
in  England  in  1837  was  over  22  per  1000,  that  of  1884  was  less 
than  20,  while  the  deaths  from  zymotic  diseases,  which  are  so  largely 
the  result  of  imperfect  sanitation,  were  reduced  to  nearly  one-half. 
There  are  other  considerations  to  which  attention  must  be  given. 
One  is  the  progress  of  the  English  people  towards  liberty  and  the 
restriction  of  arbitrary  government. 

In  the  words  of  Justin  McCarthy :  "  Queen  Victoria  is  the 
first  constitutional  sovereign  who  ever  sat  on  the  English  throne. 
Since  the  fall  of  the  House  of  Stuart  the  sovereigns  of  England 
have  been  supposed  to  hold  power  by  the  will  and  the  choice  of 
their  people  and  not  by  divine  right.  None  the  less,  however,  did 
all  the  Hanoverian  monarchs,  down  to  the  accession  of  Queen 
Victoria,  strenuously  and  stubbornly  persist  in  ruling,  or  trying  to 
rule,  their  people  on  the  principle  of  divine  right,  just  as  if  they 
had  been  Oriental  Commanders  of  the  Faithful,  or  Legitimist 
Bourbon  Kings.  William  Pitt  the  younger,  who  was  as  much  in 
advance  of  his  age  as  Fox  or  Burke  on  questions  of  religious 
freedom,  was  compelled  at  last  to  give  a  promise  that  he  would 
never  again  worry  his  royal  master  George  III.  with  any  talk 
about  the  political  emancipation  of  the  Roman  Catholics,  because 
George  had  already  made  up  his  great  mind  against  any  project  of 
that  sort,  and  it  would  put  him  out  of  temper  and  might  bring  on 
another  attack  of  madness  if  his  Minister  were  to  approach  him 
with  any  such  proposals.  Even  in  the  days  of  William  IV. 
nothing  but  the  serious  danger  of  a  popular  revolution,  in  which 
some  of  the  great  nobles  at  the  head  of  the  reform  movement 
might  have  been  compelled  to  take  part  with  the  people  against  the 
sovereign,  could  have  prevailed  on  William  to  give  up  his  objection 
to  the  formation  of  a  really  representative  Parliament." 


THE  VICTORIAN  ERA  559 

When  the  youthful  Princess  Victoria  rose  to  the  high  dignity 
of  Queen,  she  seems  to  have  set  herself  at  once  to  learn  what 
belongs  to  the  business  of  a  constitutional  sovereign,  and  such  a 
monarch  she  was  from  first  to  last.  Her  first  Minister,  Lord  Mel- 
bourne, was  well  fitted  to  instruct  her  in  her  duties  in  this  respect, 
and  he  impressed  upon  her  mind  that  the  day  for  absolute  sover- 
eignty and  royal  prerogative  had  passed,  and  the  Prince  Consort, 
with  his  philosophical  habits  of  generalization,  completed  her 
training.  We  know  of  her  revolt  against  Peel,  when  he  wished  to 
deprive  her  of  her  lady  attendants.  That  was  her  last  attempt  to 
control  the  Ministry,  and  she  afterwards  submitted  calmly  to  the 
restraints  of  the  British  Constitution.  The  state  of  public  feeling 
brought  about  by  her  quiet  submission  to  the  requirements  of  con- 
stitutional government  has  grown  so  fixed  and  firm  during  the 
more  than  sixty  years  of  her  reign  that  no  future  sovereign  is 
likely  to  seek  to  ignore  it.  The  several  steps  of  reform  legisla- 
tion have  given  the  common  people  so  decided  a  voice  in  the  gov- 
ernment that  it  would  be  a  dangerous  effort  for  any  monarch  to 
attempt  to  revive  the  old  personal  government,  and  Edward  VII. 
has  shown  a  clear  and  wise  recognition  of  this  fact  in  his  declara- 
tion that  he  proposes  to  rule  as  a  constitutional  king. 

THE    EXTENSION    OF    THE    EMPIRE. 

The  kingdom  to  which  Edward  accedes  is  a  far  more  extensive 
one  than  that  over  which  Victoria  waved  her  maiden  sceptre.  Within 
the  period  of  her  reign  the  width  of  Britain's  dominion,  as  shown 
in  a  preceding  chapter,  became  enormously  augmented.  This 
development  is  clearly  shown  in  a  recent  article  by  Sir  John  Bouri- 
not,  from  which  we  briefly  quote : 

"  No  feature  of  the  Queen's  reign  has  been  more  remarkable 
than  the  extension  of  the  empire  and  the  development  of  constitu- 
tional and  local  self-government  in  the  great  dependencies  of  the 
Crown.  When  she  ascended  the  throne  Australia  was  chiefly  known 
as  a  refuge  for  convicts.  New  Zealand  was  not  yet  recognized 


560  THE  VICTORIAN  ERA 

as  a  colony,  Canada  was  in  a  state  of  political  ferment  which 
ended  in  rebellion,  and  India  was  still  ruled  by  a  great  company. 
Sixty  years  later,  in  the  streets  of  the  metropolis  of  the  British 
Empire,  there  was  witnessed  a  spectacle  which  the  world  never 
saw  before,  whose  illustrations  of  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of 
the  Empire  far  surpassed  any  exhibition  which  the  Caesars  of 
Imperial  Rome  ever  gave  to  their  citizens  in  the  ages  when  all  the 
world  came  to  pay  her  tribute.  In  this  imperial  procession  nearly 
half  the  American  continent  was  represented — Acadia  and  Canada, 
first  settled  by  France,  the  Northwest  prairies,  first  traversed  by 
French-Canadian  adventurers,  the  Pacific  Coast,  first  seen  by  Cook 
and  Vancouver.  There,  too,  marched  men  from  Bengal,  Madras, 
Bombay,  Jeypore,  Hyderabad,  Kashmir,  Punjaub — from  all  sec- 
tions of  that  great  empire  of  India,  which  was  won  for  England  by 
Clive  and  the  men  who,  like  Wolfe,  became  famous  for  their 
achievements  in  the  days  of  Pitt. 

"  It  was  a  procession  which  illustrated  the  content  and  devel- 
opment of  the  many  colonies  and  dependencies  which  cover,  in  the 
aggregate,  eleven  millions  of  English  square  miles  and  are  peopled 
by  four  hundred  millions  of  souls  representing  many  races  and 
every  color  and  creed.  It  was  a  great  object  lesson  to  the  world 
of  the  blessings  of  peace,  and  of  the  prosperous  development  of 
colonies  under  the  liberal  system  of  government  which  has  been 
one  of  the  characteristic  features  of  the  Victorian  era." 

This  great  extension  of  territory  was  not  all  gained  by  peace- 
ful means.  England  was  many  times  forced  to  fight,  but  it  is  of 
interest  to  find  how  greatly  she  changed  the  arena  of  her  warlike 
conflicts.  During  preceding  centuries  the  soil  of  Europe  had  been 
the  great  field  of  her  feats  of  arms,  and  this  continued  during  the 
early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  ending  with  the  decisive  field 
of  Waterloo.  Since  that  date  England  has  waged  but  one  Euro- 
pean war,  the  Crimean  campaign  against  Russia,  and  that  appar- 
ently very  greatly  against  the  wish  of  the  Queen.  The  Victorian 
contests  have  been  in  Persia,  Afghanistan,  India,  Burmah,  China, 


THE  VICTORIAN  ERA  561 

Abyssinia,  Egypt,  South  Africa,  and  other  far-off  regions,  her  oppo- 
nents ranging  from  the  partly  civilized  to  the  savage  peoples  of  the 
earth,  her  object  being  to  extend  and  secure  that  vast  colonial 
heritage  upon  which  she  had  laid  her  hand. 

In  this  series  of  contests  we  meet  with  no  such  brilliant  vic- 
tories as  those  of  Marlborough,  Wolfe,  Nelson,  and  Wellington — 
no  such  great  battles  as  those  of  Blenheim,  Waterloo,  or  Trafalgar; 
but  they  have  not  been  without  their  deeds  of  heroism  and  their 
exhibitions  of  leadership.  We  cannot  soon  forget  the  memorable 
"Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade"  at  Balaklava,  the  heroic  defense -of 
Lucknow  in  the  Indian  Mutiny,  Lord  Roberts'  famous  march  in 
Afghanistan,  and  various  other  exhibitions  of  British  pluck  and 
valor ;  and  any  lack  of  brilliancy  in  these  wars  as  a  whole  were 
amply  compensated,  so  far  as  British  material  advantage  is  con- 
cerned, by  the  vast  accessions  of  territory  which  they  brought 
under  the  Queen's  rule. 

One  of  the  most  striking  results  of  this  era  of  colonial  wars 
and  imperial  development  has  been  the  immense  extension  of  the  . 
British  fleet  to  which  it  has  given  rise.  The  frigates  and  ships-of- 
the-line  which  carried  Nelson's  flag,  and  which  still  formed  the  navy 
when  Victoria  was  crowned,  have  been  replaced  by  a  new  fleet  clad 
in  solid  steel,  and  armeJ  with  engines  of  destruction  which  would 
have  ended  the  conflict  at  Trafalgar  while  Nelson  was  spreading 
his  sails  to  the  winds.  In  her  exhibition  of  sea-power  Great  Britain 
to-day  leads  the  world.  Conscious  of  her  weakness  on  land,  as 
compared  with  the  great  military  strength  of  several  nations  of  the 
continent,  and  of  the  need  of  defending  her  widely-extended  colo- 
nies by  strength  upon  the  seas,  she  has  built  up  a  fleet  of  steel-clad 
monsters  that  throws  the  navy  of  any  other  nation  into  the  shade, 
as  decidedly  as  her  commerce  looms  up  above  that  of  any  of  her 
rivals.  Thus  to  the  end  of  the  Queen's  reign  the  kingdom  over 
which  she  ruled  continued  to  bear  its  time-honored  title  of  "  Ruler 
of  the  Waves." 

31 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

Life  of  Edward  VII. ,   King  of  England 

ALBERT  EDWARD,  the  new  King  of  England,  will  be  known 
to  the  world  and  to  history  as  Edward  VII.,  by  the  Grace 
of  God,  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land, King,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  Emperor  of  India.  He  was 
born  November  9,  1841,  at  Buckingham  Palace.  It  is  told  that 
the  Duke  of  Wellington,  who  was  in  the  palace,  asked  the  nurse, 
Mrs.  Lily  : 

"Is  it  a  boy  ?  " 

"  It's  a  Prince,  your  Grace,"  answered  the  incensed  nurse. 

The  news  of  the  birth  of  the  heir-apparent  was  received  with 
the  utmost  enthusiasm  throughout  the  British  nation.  Telegrams 
of  congratulation  were  received,  not  only  from  those  sources  from 
which  they  might  have  been  expected,  but  from  thousands  of  the 
Queen's  humblest  subjects.  Punch  undertook  to  express  the  rap- 
ture of  the  nation  in  verses  beginning  : 

''Huzza  !  we've  a  little  Prince  at  last, 
A  roaring  Royal  boy  ; 
And  all  day  long  the  booming  bells 
Have  rung  their  peals  of  joy.' ' 

As  an  interesting  fact,  it  may  be  noted  that,  at  the  christening 
of  the  infant  Prince,  the  water  used  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury had  been  specially  brought  some  time  before  from  the  River 
Jordan. 

562 


LIFE  OF  EDWARD   VII.,  KING  OF  ENGLAND          563 

Before  the  Prince  was  four  weeks  old  he  was  created  Prince  of 
Wales  by  royal  patent,  as  this  title  does  not  pass  by  hereditary 
ri-ht,  but  must  be  conferred  afresh  on  each  holder.  When  he  was 
five  years  old  the  Queen  and  Prince  Albert  took  him  with  them  in 
the  Victoria  and  Albert,  on  a  tour  round  the  Channel  Islands  and 
the  west  coast  of  England,  and  it  was  on  board  this  yacht  that 
the  young  Prince,  as  the  Queen  records,  "  put  on  his  sailor's  dress, 
which  was  beautifully  made  by  the  man  on  board  who  makes 
for  our  sailors.  When  he  appeared,  the  officers  and  sailors  who 
were  all  assembled  on  deck  to  see  him,  cheered,  and  seemed 


delighted  with  him." 


EDUCATION    OF    THE    PRINCE 

His  education  was  the  subject  of  great  concern  to  both  parents, 
and  his  father  gave  special  pains  to  drawing  up  a  comprehensive 
scheme  for  it.  He  is  said  to  have  owed  his  first  training  to  Lady 
Lyttelton,  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Gladstone,  who  was  governess  to  the 
royal  children  for  six  years  after  the  Prince's  birth.  When  he  was 
five  years  old  the  British  public  began  to  manifest  a  great  interest 
in  the  matter  of  his  education,  and  pamphlets  on  the  subject  were 
widely  circulated.  After  due  consideration,  the  Rev.  Henry  Mil- 
dred Birch  was  appointed  to  superintend  his  education. 

For  many  years  he  had  the  instruction  of  a  private  tutor,  and 
then  he  was  sent  to  Edinburgh,  where  he  pursued  studies  under  the 
special  direction  of  Dr.  Schnitz.  Afterward  he  was  sent  first  to 
Oxford  and  next  to  Cambridge. 

The  Prince  made  his  first  official  appearance  in  London  on 
October  30,  1849.  The  Queen  had  promised  to  be  present  at  the 
opening  of  the  Coal  Exchange,  but  was  kept  away  by  illness.  The 
Princess  Royal  and  the  Prince  of  Wales  were  delegated  to  take 
their  mother's  place.  Two  years  later  the  Prince  assisted  at  the 
opening  of  the  great  exhibition  of  1851.  In  this  year  Mr.  Birch 
retired  as  the  Prince's  tutor  and  Mr.  Frederick  W.  Gibbs  took  the 
place,  which  he  retained  for  several  years. 


564  LIFE  OF  ED  WARD   1 77. ,  A7ATG  OF  ENGLAND 

On  his  eighteenth  birthday  he  became  legally  of  age.  In  a 
letter  which  Charles  Greville  called  "  one  of  the  most  admirable 
letters  that  was  ever  penned "  the  Queen  informed  him  of  his 
future  freedom  from  parental  control.  The  Prince  was  so  touched 
on  reading  it  that  he  brought  it  to  Gen.  Wellesley,  with  tears  in  his 
eyes.  A  month  later  he  made  a  Continental  tour,  traveling 
incognito  as  Baron  Renfrew.  During  this  journey  he  visited  Rome 
and  called  on  the  Pope.  He  was  accompanied  by  Mr.  Tarver,  who 
had  been  appointed  his  chaplain  and  director  of  studies. 

On  his  return  from  this  trip  he  entered  upon  a  serious  course 
of  study  at  Edinburgh.  In  the  newspapers  of  that  time  it  was 
complained  that  the  Heir  Apparent  was  being  overeducated  and 
that  life  was  being  made  too  severe  for  him.  From  Scotland  he 
went  to  Oxford,  and  was  admitted  a  member  of  Christ  Church 
College,  where  he  studied  chemistry  under  Dr.  Lyon  Playfair. 
The  Prince  took  life  easily  as  an  undergraduate,  joining  freely  in 
the  social  life  of  the  university,  and  in  all  the  athletic  sports.  Later  he 
matriculated  at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge, from  which  he  graduated. 

His  earliest  appearance  in  a  leading  part  on  any  public  occasion 
was  in  1859  at  the  laying  of  the  foundation  stone  of  the  Lambeth 
School  of  Art,  at  Vauxhall.  After  the  death  of  his  father  in 
December,  1861,  he  naturally  became  the  most  desirable  functionary 
at  all.  ceremonies  in  which  beneficent  or  charitable  undertakings 
were  to  be  recognized  by  royal  approval.  This  work  continued 
during  his  career  as  Prince  of  Wales  to  occupy  a  large  share  of  his 
time  and  was  always  performed  with  dignity,  tact  and  patience. 
Indeed,  no  prince  of  any  country  has  ever  personally  exerted 
himself  more  faithfully  to  render  services  of  this  sort  to  the 
community.  The  multiplicity  and  variety  of  his  engagements 
on  behalf  of  local  and  special  enterprises  make  a  surprising  list, 
and  necessarily  involved  a  sacrifice  of  ease  and  leisure  which  few 
men  of  high' rank  would  care  to  make. 

An  interesting  portion  of  his  career  at  this  period  was  his  visit 
to  Canada  and  the  United  States.  As  a  return  for  the  services  of 


LIFE  OF  EDWARD  VII. ,  KING  OF  ENGLAND  565 

the  Canadian  Regiment  in  the  Crimean  War  the  Queen  had  been 
asked  to  visit  her  American  colonies.  She  was  unable  to  accept 
the  invitation,  but  the  Prince  made  the  visit  in  her  stead  in  1860. 
He  was  accompanied  by  the  Duke  of  Newcastle. 

HIS    TOUR    IN    AMERICA 

In  Canada  he  was  received  with  great  joy  and  the  many  pub- 
lic functions  he  attended  gave  much  satisfaction.  Arches  and 
banners  adorned  the  streets  and  in  many  other  ways  the  Canadian 
people  showed  their  appreciation.  At  Hamilton,  the  last  place  in 
Canada  where  he  made  a  halt,  he  had  spoken  some  kindly  words, 
which  evoked  general  approval  in  the  United  States. 

"My  duties,"  he  said,  "as  representative  of  the  Queen  cease 
this  day,  but  in  a  private  capacity  I  am  about  to  visit  before  my 
return  home  that  remarkable  land  which  claims  with  us  a  common 
ancestry  and  in  whose  extraordinary  progress  every  Englishman 
feels  a  common  interest." 

Crossing  to  the  United  States,  he  visited  Detroit,  Chicago, 
then  a  village  of  unfinished  streets,  and  St.  Louis.  He  participated 
in  a  prairie  hunt,  after  which  he  went,  via  Cincinnati  and  Pittsburg, 
to  Washington,  where  for  five  days  he  was  a  guest  of  President 
Buchanan.  Yisting  Mount  Vernon,  he  planted  a  chestnut  tree 
beside  the  tomb  of  Washington. 

Everywhere  he  was  received  with  boundless  enthusiasm.  He 
danced  at  a  ball  given  in  his  honor  at  Washington,  where  he  was 
cordially  welcomed  by  President  Buchanan.  The  United  States, 
indeed,  was  prepared  to  receive  him  with  open  arms.  His  next 
visit  was  to  Richmond,  at  that  time  a  centre  of  hostile  politi 
cal  intrigue  against  the  government,  the  opening  of  the  Civil  WTar 
being  near  at  hand.  The  Prince,  no  doubt,  was  wise  enough  to 
desist  from  any  expression  of  opinion  concerning  the  unhappy 
controversies  then  rife  in  the  American  nation. 

Returning  North,  he  made  a  passing  visit  to  Baltimore  and  a 
short  stay  in  Philadelphia.  Here  he  visited  Independence  Hall, 


566  LIFE  (JF  EDWARD   VII.,  KING  OF  ENGLAND 

had  a  grand  ball  given  in  his  honor  at  the  Academy  of  Music,  and 
occupied  the  most  magnificent  hotel  suite  of  rooms  in  the  country 
at  the  time  in  the  new  Continental  Hotel.  He  visited  all  the 
notable  places  in  this  city.  From  Philadelphia  •  he  took  sail  for 
New  York,  landing  at  Castle  Garden  on  October  nth.  He  was 
driven  through  Broadway  to  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel,  escorted  by 
the  Mayor  and  other  civic  dignitaries,  and  cheered  on  his  way  by 
vast  crowds  of  citizens  who  had  gathered  to  do  him  honor.  One 
feature  of  the  hospitalities  tendered  him  in  New  York  was  a 
parade  of  the  Volunteer  Fire  Department,  6000  men  strong,  each 
man  in  uniform,  and  all  save  those  at  the  ropes  and  tillers  bearing 
torches.  Another  feature  was  a  grand  ball  at  the  Academy  of 
Music.  There  was  no  structure  in  New  York  large  enough  to  contain 
those  who  wished  to  attend  the  grand  ball  at  which  the  Prince  was 
entertained,  and  3000  guests  were  selected.  The  ball  itself  was 
marred  by  the  breaking  down  of  the  floor  of  the  old  Academy  of 
Music. 

Many  visitors  to  Central  Park  have  taken  an  interest  in  the 
trees  which  were  planted  by  the  Prince  of  Wales  on  the  afternoon 
of  Saturday,  October  12,  1860,  when  he  was  being  entertained  in 
that  city.  The  trees  are  an  English  oak  and  an  American  elm. 

The  elm  planted  by  the  Prince  has  grown  to  be  one  of  the 
finest  trees  in  the  Park,  but  the  oak  has  not  flourished,  although 
it  has  lived  and  has  had  the  best  possible  care  and  protection. 

From  New  York  the  Prince  proceeded  to  Albany,  Boston  and 
Portsmouth.  At  Boston  he  was  presented  to  Longfellow,  Holmes, 
Whittier,  and  other  American  literati.  He  subsequently  sailed 
from  Canada  on  the  naval  vessel  Hero,  which  was  so  delayed  in 
its  voyage  by  a  severe  storm  that  warships  were  sent  out  in  search 
of  the  missing  Prince.  On  reaching  home  he  found  that  prayers 
had  been  offered  for  his  safe  return. 

In  1862,  accompanied  by  Dean  Stanley,  the  .young  Prince 
made  a  journey  to  the  East,  including  a  visit  to  Jerusalem.  He  was 
now  of  a  marriageable  age,  and  speculation  was  rife  as  to  who 


LIFE  OF  EDWARD   /7/.,  AV.Vc;  OF  EX  GLAND  567 

would  be  the  lady  of  his  choice.  The  question  was  settled  in  the 
early  part  of  1863,  when  his  engagement  was  announced  to  Prin- 
cess Alexandra,  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  King  of  Denmark. 
She  was  three  years  younger  than  the  Prince,  and,  though  compara- 
tively poor,  was  beautiful  and  accomplished.  The  marriage  was 
celebrated  in  St.  George's  Chapel,  Windsor  Castle,  on  March  10, 
1863.  The  romantic  incidents  connected  with  this  event  have  been 
described  in  a  preceding  chapter.  The  Princess  soon  made  her- 
self very  popular  with  all  classes  of  the  British  public,  not  only  by 
her  outward  grace  of  manner,  but  also  by  her  virtues  and  amia- 
bility. The  Prince  himself  shared  in  this  popularity. 

In  1869  the  Prince  and  Princess,  whose  earlier  married  life 
was  a  succession  of  traveling  tours,  visited  Egypt  and  ascended  the 
Nile  as  far  as  the  ruins  of  Carnac.  The  Suez  Canal  formed  one 
of  the  most  interesting  points  in  the  tour.  M.  de  Lesseps  received 
and  escorted  them.  It  may  now  be  recalled  that  the  Prince  of 
Wales  performed  the  important  ceremony  of  opening  the  sluices  of 
the  dam  across  the  then  finished  portion  of  the  canal,  thus  letting 
the  waters  of  the  Mediterranean  into  the  empty  basin  of  the  Bitter 
Lakes. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  next  year  he  was  attacked  by  typhoid 
fever.  For  weeks  his  life  was  despaired  of.  The  anxiety  of  the 
public  was  intense,  and  the  news  of  his  recovery  was  greeted  with 
great  joy.  On  his  first  appearance  in  public  to  take  part  in  the 
memorable  "Thanksgiving  service"  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  on 
February  27,  1872,  the  streets  along  the  line  of  his  route  were 
crowded  with  a  cheering  multitude. 

THE    PRINCE    VISITS    INDIA. 

The  visit  of  the  Prince  of  \Vales  to  India  in  1875,  when  he 
was  absent  from  Great  Britain  for  four  months,  was  bitterly 
opposed  in  England  before  his  departure.  By  the  time  he  returned, 
however,  mature  reflections  and  reports  from  India  of  the  effect 
that  his  visit  was  having  had  so  changed  the  sentiment  against  his 


568  LIFE  OF  EDWARD   VII.,  KING  OF  ENGLAND 

"  pleasure  trip  at  the  expense  of  the  nation,"  that  the  ceremonies 
welcoming  his  return  nearly  eclipsed  those  of  the  thanksgiving 
over  his  recovery  from  illness.  The  House  of  Commons  voted  a 
sum  of  $300,000  for  the  personal  expenses  of  the  party.  The 
Admiralty  set  aside  $260,000  as  the  expenses  of  the  voyage  of  the 
Serapis  to  and  from  India.  The  appropriation  was  not  unanimously 
carried  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Mr.  Fawcett,  a  blind  member, 
whose  favorite  title  was  that  of  Member  for  India,  objected  to  the 
vote.  Thirty-three  members  agreed  with  him.  Disraeli  was  then 
Prime  Minister,  and  in  supporting  the  vote  his  Oriental  imagina- 
tion revelled  in  depicting  the  pomp  with  which  the  Prince  would  be 
surrounded  and  the  pageants  that  would  adorn  his  progress.  Lord 
Charles  Beresford  was  the  life  of  the  party,  and  many  were  the 
escapades  contributed  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  Prince  and  the  suite 
by  one  who  is  now  a  grave  Rear-Admiral  in  the  British  navy. 

COURAGEOUS    IN    HIS    CONVICTIONS 

The  courage  of  King  Edward's  convictions  was  demonstrated 
in  1876  when  he  consented  to  preside  at  the  Jubilee  Festival  of  the 
Licensed  Victuallers'  Asylum,  which  would  be  called  in  this  country 
a  Home  for  Aged  and  Infirm  Saloon-keepers.  More  than  two  hun- 
dred petitions  were  sent  to  the  Prince  from  all  parts  of  the  United 
Kingdom  by  temperance  societies  begging  him  to  have  nothing  to 
do  with  the  jubilee.  He  made  reply  that  he  was  not  encouraging 
the  sale  of  alcoholic  liquors,  but  was  encouraging  an  excellent 
charity  which  had  enjoyed  the  patronage  of  his  honored  father. 
It  was  at  about  this  period  of  his  life  that  the  Prince  began  to 
manifest  his  interest  in  public  exhibitions  which  he  inherited  from 
his  father.  He  again  and  again  threw  himself  with  enthusiasm  into 
the  promotion  of  such  enterprises.  One  of  the  most  successful  of 
those  which  he  encouraged,  and  to  a  certain  extent  brought  about, 
was  the  Colonial  and  Indian  Exhibition  of  1886. 

During  the  last  ten  years,  as  Prince  of  Wales,  his  time  was 
occupied  supervising  the  various  public  institutions  and  charitable 


LIFE  OF  EDWARD  171.,  KING  OF  ENGLAND  569 

interests  of  which  he  was  the  patron  and  in  his  usual  continental 
tours.  In  1898  he  sustained  an  accident  to  his  knee  which  threat- 
ened to  make  him  lame  for  life,  but  from  which  it  is  believed  he 
has  been  entirely  cured.  While  subsequently  passing  through 
Brussels  he  was  shot  at  in  the  railroad  station  by  a  half-witted 
youth  named  Sipido,  but  escaped  injury. 

The  residence  of  King  Edward  while  he  was  Prince  of  Wales 
was  always  at  Sandringham.  The  place  was  picked  out  for  him  by 
his  parents  on  the  advice  of  Lord  Palmerston.  The  estate  consisted 
of  8,000  acres,  and  he  took  very  great  interest  in  its  development. 

The  King  has  also  been  conspicuous  for  his  keen  interest  in 
sports.  As  a  child  he  accompanied  the  Prince  Consort  on  deer- 
stalking expeditions,  and  by  the  time  he  was  fifteen  was  the  best 
shot  in  his  family.  Of  late  years  he  has  been  a  well  known  and 
conspicuous  patron  of  the  great  race  courses  where  his  horses  have 
contested  for  the  great  prizes.  His  colors  are  purple,  gold  band, 
scarlet  sleeves,  and  black  velvet  cap  with  gold  fringe.  They  were 
carried  for  the  first  time  in  July,  1877,  at  Newmarket,  and  were 
beaten  by  twenty  lengths.  His  greatest  triumphs  on  the  turf  were 
the  winning  of  the  Derbies  of  1896  and  1900  with  Persimmon  and 
Diamond  Jubilee.  He  has  won  numberless  less  conspicuous  stakes. 
But  since  his  accession  to  the  throne  it  is  said  that  he  probably  will 
not  continue  his  interest  in  this  sport.  He  is  fond  of  riding  to  the 
hounds,  and  of  all  sorts  of  shooting.  He  has  always  been  a  keen 
deer-stalker,  and,  to  quote  his  own  words  :  "  There  is  nothing  I 
like  better  than  a  good  day's  shoot.  It  seems  the  only  thing 
which  takes  me  out  of  myself  and  makes  me  forget  the  cares  and 
responsibilities  of  my  position." 

Fortunate  as  he  has  been  in  horse-racing,  he  has  had  even 
greater  success  as  a  yachtsman.  He  has  repeatedly  won  the 
Queen's  Cup  at  Cowes,  and  has  been  a  member  of  the  Royal 
Yacht  Squadron,  of  which  he  became  Commodore  in  1882.  His 
most  famous  boat  was  the  cutter  Britannia. 


570  LIFE  OF  EDWARD   VII.,  KING  OF  ENGLAND 

But  the  time  and  attention  of  the  Prince  were  by  no  means  all 
given  up  to  the  occupations  above  spoken  of,  political  questions 
interesting  him  as  much  as  those  of  a  sporting  character.  He  has 
loner  been  a  close  follower  of  the  news  of  the  world.  In  times 

o 

when  there  were  armies  in  the  field,  and  especially  when  there  were 
British  armies  in  the  field,  he  kept  constantly  in  touch  with  the 
telegraph  wires,  and  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  keenest  students 
of  European  politics.  When  in  London  the  demands  upon  his 
time  were  apportioned  upon  a  set  schedule,  from  which  he  seldom 
varied.  He  was  accustomed  to  receive  about  two  hundred  letters 
a  day  and  to  answer  most  of  them  in  person. 

HIS    NEW    DIGNITY 

We  have  heretofore  spoken  of  Victoria's  oldest  son  merely  as 
Prince  of  Wales,  a  position  which  he  held  for  sixty  years  of  his 
life.  We  have  now  to  speak  of  him  under  a  higher  title  of  dignity, 
that  of  Edward  VII.,  successor  to  Queen  Victoria  as  Sovereign  of 
the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 

Leaving  the  Isle  of  Wight  for  London  on  January  23d,  the 
day  after  the  Queen's  death,  he  found  a  loyal  throng  waiting  to 
'greet  their  new  King,  as  he  was  driven  through  the  streets  of  the 
metropolis.  A  meeting  of  the  Privy  Council  had  been  called, 
and  by  the  time  the  King  arrived  a  great  gathering  of  Privy  Coun- 
cilors, in  levee  dress,  with  crepe  on  their  left  arms,  had  taken  up 
positions  in  the  throne-room — Cabinet  Ministers,  Peers,  Com- 
moners, Bishops,  Judges,  the  Lord  Mayor,  etc.,  and  a  host  of  the 
most  prominent  personages  in  the  land,  who  were  there  to  receive 
the  King's  formal  oath,  binding  him  to  govern  the  kingdom  accord- 
ing; to  its  laws  and  customs,  and  to  hear  him  assume  the  title  of 

o 

King  Edward  VII.  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  and  Emperor  of 
India. 

The  ceremony  was  interesting  and  according  to  precedent. 
The  King  took  his  position  in  a  separate  apartment  from  the  Privy 
Councilors,  while  to  the  latter  the  Duke  of  Devonshire,  Lord 


LIFE  OF  EDWARD   VII.,  KING  OF  ENGLAND  571 

President  of  the  Council,  formally  communicated  the  death  of 
Queen  Victoria  and  the  succession  to  the  throne  of  her  son,  the 
Prince  of  Wales.  The  royal  Dukes,  with  certain  Lords  of  the 
Council,  were  then  directed  to  repair  to  the  King's  presence  to 
acquaint  him  with  the  terms  of  the  Lord  President's  statement. 
Shortly  afterwards  his  Majesty  entered  the  room  in  which  the 
Councilors  were  assembled  and  addressed  them  in  a  brief  speech. 
Lord  Salisbury  then  administered  the  oath  to  the  King.  After- 
wards, the  various  members  of  the  Council,  commencing  with  the 
Lords  in  Council,  took  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  then  passed 
in  turn  before  his  Majesty,  as  at  a  levee,  except  that  each  paused 
and  kissed  the  King's  hand. 

King  Edward  in  his  speech  to  the  Privy  Council  said : 

"Your  Royal  Highnesses,  my  Lords  and  Gentlemen:  This  is 
the  most  painful  occasion  on  which  I  will  ever  be  called  upon  to 
address  you.  My  first  melancholy  duty  is  to  announce  to  you  the 
death  of  my  beloved  mother,  the  Queen  ;  and  I  know  how  deeply 
you  and  the  whole  nation,  and,  I  think  I  may  say,  the  whole  world, 
sympathizes  with  me  in  the  irreparable  loss  we  have  all  sustained. 

"  I  need  hardly  say  that  my  constant  endeavor  will  be  always 
to  walk  in  her  footsteps. 

"  In  undertaking  the  heavy  load  which  now  devolves  upon  me, 
I  am  fully  determined  to  be  a  constitutional  Sovereign  in  the 
strictest  sense  of  the  word,  and,  so  long  as  there  is  breath  in  my 
body,  to  work  for  the  good  and  amelioration  of  my  people. 

"  I  have  resolved  to  be  known  by  the  name  of  Edward,  which 
has  been  borne  by  six  of  my  ancestors.  In  doing  so  I  do  not  under- 
value the  name  of  Albert,  which  I  inherit  from  my  ever-to-be 
lamented,  great  and  wise  father,  who  by  universal  consent,  is,  I 
think,  deservedly  known  by  the  name  of  Albert  the  Good,  and  I 
desire  that  his  name  should  stand  alone. 

"  In  conclusion,  I  trust  to  Parliament  and  the  nation  to  support 
me  in  the  arduous  duties  which  now  devolve  upon  me  by  inheritance, 


572  LIFE  OF  EDWARD  VII.,  KING  OF  ENGLAND 

and  to  which  I  am  determined  to  devote  my  whole  strength  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  my  life." 

On  the  following  day,  January  24, 1901,  London  was  given  a 
glimpse  of  the  customs  of  mediaeval  times.  The  quaint  ceremonies 
with  which  King  Edward  VII.  was  proclaimed  at  various  points  of 
the  metropolis  exactly  followed  ancient  precedents.  The  officials 
purposely  arranged  the  function  an  hour  ahead  of  the  published 
announcement,  and  the  inhabitants,  when  they  awoke,  were  sur- 
prised to  find  the  entire  space  between  St.  James'  Palace  and  the 
city  lined  with  troops.  About  10,000  soldiers,  Life  Guards,  Horse 
Guards,  Foot  Guards,  and  other  cavalry  and  infantry  regiments,  had 
been  brought  from  Aldershot  and  London  barracks  after  midnight. 

All  the  officers  had  crape  on  their  arms,  and  the  drums  and 
brass  instruments  were  shrouded  with  crape.  The  troops  made  an 
imposing  spectacle,  but  they  were  entirely  eclipsed  by  the  strange 
spectacle  presented  by  the  officials  of  the  College  of  Arms. 

The  ceremonies  began  at  St.  James'  Palace,  where,  at  9  o'clock, 
Edward  VII.  was  proclaimed  King  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  and  Emperor  of  India.  The  proclamation, 
read  by  William  Henry  Weldon,  King-at-Arms,  was  as  follows  : 

"  WHEREAS,  It  has  pleased  Almighty  God  to  call  to  His  mercy  our  late 
Sovereign,  Lady  Queen  Victoria,  of  blessed  and  glorious  memory,  by  whose 
decease  the  imperial  crown  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
is  solely  and  rightfully  come  to  the  high  and  mighty  Prince  Albert  Edward, 
we,  therefore,  the  Lords  spiritual  and  temporal  of  this  realm,  being  here  assisted 
with  these  of  her  late  Majesty's  Privy  Council,  with  numbers  of  other  principal 
gentlemen  of  quality,  with  the  Lord  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  citizens  of  London, 
do  now  hereby  with  one  voice,  consent  of  tongue  and  heart,  to  publish  and  pro- 
claim that  the  high  and  mighty  Prince  Albert  Edward  is  now,  by  the  death  of 
our  late  Sovereign  of  happy  memory,  become  our  only  lawful  and  rightful 
liege  Lord,  Edward  VII.,  by  the  grace  of  God  King  of  the  United  Kingdom  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  defender  of  the  faith,  Emperor  of  India,  to  whom  we 
acknowledge  all  faith  and  constant  obedience  with  all  hearty  and  humble  affec- 
tion, beseeching  God,  by  whom  all  Kings  and  Queens  do  reign,  to  bless  the 
Royal  Prince  Edward  VII .  with  long  and  happy  years." 


LIFE  OF  EDWARD   VI I.,  KING  OF  ENGLAND  573 

The  proclamation  was  greeted  by  a  fanfare  of  trumpets.  At 
the  conclusion  of  the  ceremony  the  band  belonging  to  the  Foot 
Guards  in  the  Friary  Court  played  "  God  Save  the  King."  The 
members  of  the  King's  household  witnessed  the  ceremony  from 
the  balcony  of  Maryborough  House. 

The  officials  then  marched  in  procession  from  the  balcony, 
through  the  palace,  to  the  Ambassadors'  Court,  where  a  number  of 
royal  carriages  had  been  placed,  by  the  direction  of  the  King,  at 
the  disposal  of  the  Earl  Marshal.  These  took  the  officials  who 
read  the  proclamation  to  the  city,  and,  escorted  by  a  detachment  of 
Horse  Guards,  formed  a  picturesque  and  gorgeous  procession. 

A  blare  of  trumpets  announced  the  progress  of  the  cavalcade 
as  it  proceeded  through  the  Trafalgar  Square  and  the  Strand. 
Onward  it  went,  passing  into  the  city  at  Temple  Bar,  where  it  was 
met  by  the  Lord  Mayor  in  showy  procession. 

It  was  there  that  the  two  processions  were  to  merge  in  kaleido- 
scopic grandeur.  The  Lord  Mayor,  Sheriffs,  Aldermen  and  mace- 
bearers,  in  scarlet,  fur-trimmed  robes,  cocked  hats,  ruffled  shirts, 
silk  knee-breeches  and  low  buckled  shoes,  peered  out  from  the  Cin- 
derella-like coaches  that  would  have  been  the  envy  of  Alice  in 
Wonderland.  Overhead,  in  the  midst  of  the  pageant,  the  great 
Griffin  which  marks  the  city  boundary  spread  its  wide,  fantastic 
wings,  like  some  great  Hindu  god.  In  their  gold  liveries  the  white- 
wigged  coachmen  of  the  Lord  Mayor  looked  down  contemptuously 
upon  soldier,  herald  and  peer.  In  the  olden  days  a  veritable  bar 
or  gate  separated  the  city  from  without.  On  this  ceremonial  day 
ten  strong  policemen  stretched  a  red  silken  rope  across  the  thor- 
oughfare in  honor  of  the  city's  ancient  privileges. 

As  the  clock  struck  the  time  the  officer  in  command  of  the 
troops  cried,  "  Attention  ! "  The  rifle-stocks  came  down  with  a 
click  upon  the  asphalt  pavement,  and  two  gold-laced  trumpeters 
appeared  at  the  Griffin's  side.  The  Lord  Mayor  and  Sheriffs, 
mace-bearers,  chaplain,  remembrancer  and  the  white-wigged  Judges 
of  the  city  courts  left  their  carriages  and  grouped  themselves 


574  LIFE  OF  EDWARD  VII. ,  KING  OF  ENGLAND 

together  between  the  lines  of  drawn-up  troops.  Then  the  City 
Marshal,  and  the  Norroy  King-of-Arms,  whose  green-and-gold 
tabard  outshone  those  of  his  colleagues,  appeared  at  the  imaginary 
bar.  His  trumpeter  blew  a  shrill  blast,  which  the  Lord  Mayor's 
trumpeters  answered,  and  then  the  City  Marshal  rode  up  to  the 
barrier  and  demanded,  "  Who  goes  there  ?  " 

The  Norroy  King-of-Arms  replied  that  it  was  the  King's 
herald,  come  to  read  a  proclamation,  "  Enter  herald,"  said  the 
Marshal,  and  the  herald  was  conducted  to  the  Lord  Mayor  and 
Aldermen,  who  were  still  grouped  in  the  street. 

The  herald  then  read  the  proclamation,  to  which  the  Mayor 
and  Aldermen  replied  :  "  We,  with  one  voice,  consent,  tongue  and 
heart,  pledge  allegiance  to  King  Edward  VII." 

Thus  ends  our  story  of  how  the  great  Queen  of  England 
passed  away  and  the  new  King  came  to  the  throne.  Full  of  years 
and  the  wisdom  which  comes  with  years,  he  has  taken  upon  himself 
a  mighty  responsibility,  but  one  which  we  feel  sure  he  will  bear 
well  and  with  high  credit  to  himself  and  his  nation.  King  Edward 
is  credited  with  strong  common  sense  ;  he  knows  the  temper  of  the 
English  people  so  well  that  he  will  probably  never  be  so  unwise  as 
to  attempt  to  thwart  their  will,  and  the  recent  history  of  England 
shows  that  a  sovereign  who  follows  the  nation  will  win  honor 
for  himself  and  glory  for  the  realm.  During  the  whole  of  his 
lifetime  he  has  lived  under  the  shadow  of  the  greatest  responsi- 
bility that  can  fall  to  the  lot  of  any  man — to  be  King  of  England. 
The  common  sense  distinctive  of  Queen  Victoria  descends  to  her 
eldest  son,  and  if  his  ideals  are  sometimes  considered  to  fall  short 
of  the  standard  set  up  for  other  people  by  the  unco  guid,  it  is  not 
that  the  King  does  not  believe  them,  but  that  he  does  not  talk 
about  them.  It  is  impossible  in  the  nature  of  things  that  Edward's 
reign  will  be  a  long  one.  It  is  satisfactory  to  know,  however,  that 
the  sceptre  so  worthily  held  by  a  good  woman  has  passed  into  the 
hands  of  an  English  gentleman. 


2s 


A    000  141  562    9 


